Remember
by 2Wolves
Summary: everything is fine at Fairy tail. right? but something's missing. why do we have so much alcohol? its not like we have any heavy drinkers. why is Laxus having weird dreams. who's this Cana girl that Laxus met on a mission? (i suck at summaries.) Please review, hope you like it! (not sure about genres.) rated T to be sure.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! So this is my first-ish fanfic! I really like the couple Cana and Laxus, and I've had an idea for this story for a while. I'm not sure how it will turn out so be nice please! :D**

**I do not own Fairy tail. If I did no one would read it. **

**Evergreen POV**

It was just a regular day in Fairy tail. Natsu and Gray were fighting in the background about what job they should take, Mira was chatting with Lucy, and Elfman was making fun of Jet and Droy. Evergreen was sitting with Freed and Bilzak, (who were both out cold from trying to out-drink Cana the night before) watching the excitement of Fairy tail fill the morning air. Just then, Evergreen noticed something out of the ordinary. Cana was sitting next at one of the tables, drinking out of the bottle, (normal) talking to someone who Evergreen didn't recognize.

He had long brown hair, going down to just below his jaw line. His eyes matched his hair colour, chestnut brown. His face was set in what looked like a permanent playful smirk. He wore a long black cloak, tied tightly under his collar, but otherwise forgotten, as it was shoved behind him, allowing his black muscle shirt and loose blue jean to be easily seen. (I'm not good when it comes to descriptions, constructive criticism here would be nice). Despite his clothing, he looked pretty cheerful, a smile reaching up to his eyes, as Cana laughed. It looked like Cana had known him for a while; by the way she talked so easily to him.

"_Maybe they're drinking buddies?" _Evergreen suggested. But she doubted it, Cana usually drank at Fairy tail, and rarely went anywhere else, unless on a mission. Evergreen reached out, and pulled Natsu towards her by the collar, not taking her eyes off of the couple.

Natsu growled. "Ever what the heck? I was just about to send the Pervert hurling towards his death!" he complained.

Ever ignored him. "Do you know who that is with Cana?"

Natsu raised an eyebrow, and followed her gaze. "Not sure," he admitted, his own curiosity piqued. "A new member?" he suggested.

Evergreen shook her head. "He would have gone to talk to Mira by now."

Natsu was silent, and then without warning, and marched towards the two. He grabbed the stranger by the collar, forcing him to face him. "Who the heck are you?" he asked. Everyone in the guild then turned towards him. Evergreen immediately covered her face, wishing that she hadn't gone to Natsu for help; she had not meant to make a scene.

The guy just looked at Natsu, a confused look on his face. "Who's asking?" he inquired.

Natsu frowned. "I usually like to know the name of a guy before I fight him." Everyone rolled their eyes, at Natsu's violent behaviour.

Cana rolled her eyes. "Ignore him Damien. He's always like this." She said, taking a swig of her bottle. "And no, before you ask he doesn't want to fight with you Natsu." Natsu frowned, letting go, and walking off, his interest dissipating. Mira walked towards the two, and sat at the table with them, conversations slowly starting again at other tables.

Mira smiled warmly. "Hello Damien. I'm Mira, are you a friend of Cana's?"

Damien smiled, and nodded. He reminded Evergreen of an excited puppy dog. "Yup! We're old friends. Cana used to live in the same town with me when we were younger."

Cana nodded in agreement. "He saw my match during the tournament, and came to the guild to find me. He arrived just this morning."

Lucy, Erza, Gray and Evergreen joined them at the table as Cana was talking. "That's nice." Lucy said, grinning."

"Aww!" Mira said, in her very Mirajane way, "It's like a childhood romance! That's so cute!" Cana and Damien's faces immediately flushed red.

"I Uh, no, I Um, it's, um, not really like that, sort of." Damien stammered, nervously.

"Sort of?" Erza asked

"It's not at all like that." Cana said frowning. "We're just old friends, nothing more."

Damien nodded slowly, but he wouldn't meet Cana's eyes. Cana didn't seem to notice. The group of them started talking, asking Damien about what stuff he did, Natsu, coming over to brag about their victory during the Grand magic games, before Erza shoved him off. Ever's eyes focused on Damien, ignoring everything else around her. Perhaps it was her own non-trusting viewpoint, but something about this guy put her on edge.

Everyone else was only seeing the cute innocent boy next door routine, and his charming smile, but Ever had been on far too many S class missions with Laxus to fall for that so easily. Evergreen studied him, noticing the way his eyes often flickered to Cana, but would immediately look away again, a slight blush creeping on his cheeks. Cana didn't seem to notice, as she was paying more attention to her alcohol then to him. Evergreen couldn't help but pity the poor boy.

She was about to say something, when the doors of Fairy tail flung open. Most of the guild didn't even notice, but Cana's eyes lifted flashed to the door, and a small smile lit up on her face. Laxus walked into the guild, a plain yellow muscle shirt showing off his well built muscles, and light brown pants. Despite the fact that he had just returned from a 2 week S class mission all by himself, he didn't have a scratch on him, not even a speck of dirt.

Cana grinned and waved towards him. "Laxus! You're back, now you can buy me that drink you owe me."

Laxus looked up to her voice, a smirk placing itself on his face. He walked over to the group, and sat in the seat next to her, opposite to where Damien was sitting. "I don't think you need anymore, you already have enough to give everyone in the guild hangovers for a month."

"Aww I haven't drank that much!" Cana said, with an exaggerated tip of her bottle. The two laughed. Two separate conversations started Cana and Laxus, the other guild member sitting at the table making small talk with Damien. Damien was hardly paying attention to them; his eyes were on Cana, who was making fun of Laxus for taking so long on his mission. His eyes darkened, and his face set into a grim line.

"_Uh oh." _Evergreen thought grimly. _"This could mean trouble."_

"Hey Cana." Damien said.

Cana snapped back to attention. "Oh gosh, sorry Damien, I've been drinking too much."

"You can't just blame your drinking habits for everything you do." Laxus said,

Cana glared at him. "Well why not? It's worked for me up till now." She turned back to Damien. "Ignoring the big oaf's comment, Damien this is Laxus, Laxus, Damien." She swayed back in her seat for a moment, so the two could see each other. Laxus gave him a nod. Damien's face just stayed the same, like a small child trying to act tough.

He turned his eyes back to Cana, ignoring Laxus. "So, what do you say to my proposal Cana?" eyes turned towards him.

"Proposal?" Gray asked.

Damien nodded, his grin shining. "I mean about returning home with me."

Natsu practically choked. "Home? Fairy tail is Cana's home."

Damien laughed at his words. "No, I mean her real home, her home town." He turned back to Cana. "So what do you say?"

**Hey! Sorry, I know the first chapter is pretty lame, but I wasn't really sure how to start off the story. My first plan was to just skip to the problem, but I wasn't sure that would work. So what did you think? Constructive criticism would be appreciated, but nothing to mean please! Hope you all like it and I'll try to post next chapter ASAP. (please forgive all and any grammar, spelling or any errors in this story. I'm REALLY not good at those things.) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! I don't really have much to say right now, so on with the story!**

**I don't own fairy tail; if I did I'd write a chapter about everyone doing a gender swap. (Seriously, I'd want to see that!) **

**Normal POV.**

Everyone starred at Damien like he had just suggested they burn down the guild hall. Damien just sat there, smiling happily; completely oblivious that he had said anything wrong. It was Natsu who finally spoke.

"Leave the guild? Are you crazy?" Natsu sputtered, still too shocked to punch the guy.

Damien looked at him. "Well why shouldn't she? She would like it a lot better than she does here."

"There is no way she's going." Laxus growled. Small sparks were flickering around him, his arms folded in front of his chest.

Damien glared at him. "Who asked you freak?"

"_I knew something bad was going to happen." _ Evergreen though miserably.

"Besides, you were expelled from the guild for months, and just barely got back in. Why would you think that you have the right to speak on behalf of Cana?"

"_And I was right." _Evergreen whimpered.

Laxus' eyes were burning now; Erza could practically see him trying to decide where he would stash Damien's body. "Why you little..." Laxus started, making a move to stand.

Erza spoke quickly, "guys calm down. He just made a suggestion, it's nothing to get worked up about." her eyes bore into Laxus. "I don't want to see any civilians getting injured here alright?"

"Don't talk him down Erza." Damien interrupted. "If the guy wants to fight, let him! I'd like to see him best me anyway."

Laxus smirked. "Someone's cocky. You think you can beat me boy?"

"With one hand tied behind my back." Damien sneered. Just then a flash of lighting struck just above Damien's head, singeing the hairs on the top of his head.

"If you can't even dodge that you're going to need a lot more than your wimpy magic to save you." Laxus said, smirking at Damien's surprised face.

Damien stood up at the same time as Laxus, and they were about to step towards each other, before Cana jumped up and placed herself between the two. "Whoa, you guys chill. Damien just asked me a question, doesn't mean I'm going to accept."

"But you are going to accept right?" Damien asked, his demeanor changed back to a loyal puppy dog.

Cana glared at him. "No, Damien, I'm not. It's just as Natsu said, Fairy tail is my home and I'm not planning on leaving. Sure I'll come to visit but I'm not staying."

"What?" Damien said, making a pouty puppy dog face. "But Cana..." he whined.

"And Laxus." Cana interrupted, turning to face him.

Laxus blinked in surprise. "Me? What the heck did I do wrong?"

Cana glared at him. Obviously that was not the right thing to ask. "Damien is right; you shouldn't be speaking for me. Drunk or not I can speak for myself. Well, that's still depending on how drunk I am, but not the point!"

Laxus narrowed his eyes. "It's not like you were going to say yes to this joker."

"Again, not the point." Cana interrupted. "The point is that I can speak for myself, and also, I would prefer it if you don't turn my old friends into cinders, thank you very much." Without waiting for Cana's reply, she turned back to Damien. "We should probably go get you checked into a hotel, there aren't very many in Magnolia."

Damien nodded, smiling as if he hadn't just been about to fight one of her friends. "K! I'll meet you outside!" Damien walked through the crowd to the front, not meeting anyone's eyes, his smile still plastered on his face.

Cana was about to follow him, when Laxus caught her arm. "You're going with him?" Laxus asked.

Cana frowned at him. "Yes as a matter of fact I am. Man, Laxus what is with you? You never acted like this before!" Cana snapped her hand out of his grasp. "I'll see the rest of you later." She said, before storming out of the guild. Laxus' eyes followed her, his fist clenched, teeth grinding together, electricity falling from him like wildfire.

Erza whispered in Gray's ear. "Back. Away. slowly." Slowly, taking small baby steps, everyone, even Natsu; even though Erza had to drag him part of the way; tiptoed away from Laxus, whose eyes were still glued on the Fairy tail doors.

Five minutes later, Laxus snapped out of it, and looked around. "Where'd everyone go?" he asked himself. (Sister asked me to put that little scene in.)

Cana POV

Cana smiled, walking along side Damien, as he chattered on like a happy little school boy, eyes widening at everything he saw. Cana couldn't help but laugh at his playful attitude. It was mostly dark now, the two of them having spent their day wandering through town. Cana and Damien walked back towards the hotel that they had found for Damien.

"Hey Cana." Damien said abruptly, awakening Cana from her thoughts.

She looked up at Damien and smiled. "Yeah Damien, what's up?"

Damien looked at her, his serious expression startling Cana. "Did you really mean that, that you aren't going to come back home with me?"

Cana swallowed. She had been hoping to avoid this conversation. "Well, yeah, Damien. Sure I used to love it there, but Fairy tail is my new home. I have people I care about here, and people who care about me, I don't want to leave." Cana felt like she was talking to a child, being careful with her every word. When Damien's expression didn't change she spoke quickly. "But hey! I'll still come to visit every now and then, don't look so serious Damien."

Damien's eyes drifted to the ground. "Are you sure it's Fairy tail you don't want to leave, or is it something else?"

Cana choked. "w-what do you mean? Of course it's Fairy tail, I told you they're practically my family."

"I mean," Damien said, taking a step closer to Cana. She tried to take a step back, but found herself pinned to a wall. "Is there anyone in particular who you'd miss?"

Cana bit her lip. She knew this was coming. She had always known about Damien's little high school crush on her, she would have been blind not to see it. Back when she lived in her village, he would visit her daily, and even after she came to Fairy tail, for the first 3 years he would send her letters, with little hearts written on the bottom. (She had never heard the end of it from Mirajane.) She herself had never really felt anything for Damien. In her mind, he was like a cute puppy dog you'd want to play with, but nothing more. Honestly, she had tried really really hard, to picture Damien as a possible love interest. She had even forced herself to write cheesy couple name things in her notebooks in an attempt to force herself to like him, but no matter what she did, she couldn't picture Damien as anything more than a friend. She had hoped that he had gotten over it by now, but no such luck. "Damien, look I know that you, um..."

"Just answer the question." Damien snapped, "Do you like someone from the guild?"

Suddenly, involuntarily, an image of Laxus flashed in her mind. "I don't know what you're talking about." Cana said. She had to restrain herself from banging her head against the wall.

"It's that Laxus guy isn't it?" Damien demanded. "You love him don't you?"

Cana's face was aghast. "w-what?" Cana said, unconvincingly. "Th-that's ridiculous." She said, trying to force a laugh as she waved her hand, as if dismissing the idea. "Th-there's no way, that..."

"You do, don't you?" Damien said. "But you won't admit it will you?" Cana opened her mouth to protest, but she snapped it shut; knowing anything she said would just make her look more guilty. Damien gritted his teeth. "I don't like it." Suddenly, without warning, Damien grabbed for Cana, and pulled her into his chest, crushing her against him, resting his head on her shoulder. "No one else is allowed to have Cana! Cana is mine and mine alone, I'm not going to share you with anybody!"

Cana was surprised, shocked at Damien's bold statement. She was about to call his name, when Cana felt a sharp tug, an unmistakable magic working within her. "Damien," she called, starting to panic. "Damien, what are you doing?" she called again, the magic starting to become painful.

Damien straightened himself, Cana still pressed firmly against his chest, as he put a hand on her head. "No one is going to take my Cana away from me. Not now, not ever." Cana tried pushing against him, but found that he was still far too strong for her. She tried to grab her cards, but Damien's grip was restricting her, as her arms were stuck between his chest and her own.

"Damien let me go!" she called, the pain becoming excruciating.

"Shhh shhh." Damien said, stroking the back of her hair. "It'll be over soon, don't worry, then it'll be just you and me." Cana could barely hear his words anymore, as she screamed at the top of her lungs, unable to stop it because of her pain, before she collapsed in his arms. Damien picked her up, bridal style. The last thing Cana saw before blacking out was the small lightening on the horizon of the sky.

**Whoa Dramatic! I actually wrote this one within a few hours of writing the first chapter. After my first review I got really excited and didn't want to stop writing! Hopefully you like this chapter; I know it was written fast, so it might not be very good. Reviews please! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! Now we're on to the real story! Hopefully these chapters are better than the first 2, but no promises. Hope you all like it! Reviews please!**

**I don't own fairy tail, if I did Magnolia's signature food would be Ice Cream. **

**Laxus POV.**

_Laxus followed the sounds of crying. It was hard to make out against the loud noises of the guild, but it was unmistakable to Laxus. He followed the sounds till he came to the far corner of the guild. Laxus ducked under the table, and found a small girl there. She had short brown hair, and was wearing a small orange dress. She looked only a few years younger than Laxus. The girl hugged her knees to her chest as she cried softly. _

_ "If you're going to keep crying, I'm going to have to tape your mouth closed to keep you from making so much noise." The girl looked up in surprise. Her eyes were puffy from crying so much. _

_The girl sniffled, and whipped her tears. "I-it's n-not like anyone is going to notice. It's to noisy here anyway." She stammered. _

"_I didn't say anyone else would notice." Laxus said. He bent down and sat in front of her. "I noticed. And I don't like it when people are crying at my guild." She sniffled a little, looking at him. Laxus sighed. "So why are you crying?"_

_The girl drifted her gaze back to the floor. "One of the guys asked me to fight him."_

_Laxus nodded. That was definitely Natsu. "And?" he prodded. _

_She sniffed. "I-I got scared. I don't want him to hurt me." _

"_He's not going to hurt you. Natsu says that to everyone, you can just ignore him if you want." _

_The girl bit her lip, small tears coming out. "y-yeah but..." she stammered._

_Laxus, sighed, putting a hand behind his head, feeling kind of embarrassed. "Listen, no one in this guild is going to hurt you alright. I-I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you, ok?" _

_The girl looked up at him; her eyes sparkled from her tears. "You-do you promise?" _

_Laxus made a face. "Yeah, sure I promise." Laxus got up, and held out a hand to her. "Come on, you're new here right? I'll show you around." The girl sniffed as she took his hand, a small smile starting on her face. "Hey, I didn't get your name. I'm Laxus by the way."_

_The girl looked up at him, her face shining and adorable. "Laxus-san. My name is..."_

Laxus' eyes slowly opened the morning light beaming against his face. He groaned, put a hand over his face so he could block out the sun. Through his fingers, he saw the time on his bedside clock. 9:00, he figured he might as well go and grace the guild with his presence. He forced himself out of bed, and went to grab a shirt. His apartment was practically military clean, not a speck of dust could be seen. He walked over to the kitchen, and started making himself a coffee. As the dark liquid dripped into his cup, he thought about his dream.

The dream was kind of fuzzy to him, but he remembered that girls face clearly. He couldn't place it with any of the guild members. Maybe she had just been visiting that one time and never showed up again? Laxus sipped his coffee, as he grabbed a piece of toast before walking out of the apartment.

Back at the guild, Laxus was greeted with loud yelling. "LAXUS!" Laxus barely had time to look up before he was bombarded by his teammates. Bixlow and Freed tackled him to the ground, smiles blooming on their faces. "You're finally back! You took so long on that mission."

Laxus grunted in annoyance, trying to shove them off. "I came back yesterday you morons. Where was this home welcoming then?"

Evergreen rolled her eyes. "These two challenged someone to a drinking competition. They've been hung-over till 5 this morning, even though they lost miserably."

Laxus rolled his eyes. "Who did you challenge?"

Freed frowned. "No one, if was just me and Bixlow."

Laxus frowned. "But Ever just said that you challenged someone else, and lost miserably."

Ever frowned, "did I?" Laxus nodded. She shook her head. "Perhaps I'm just not thinking straight. Elfman was soooo mean to me when you were gone Laxus!"

"Shut up Ever!" Elfman yelled. "True men don't lie!"

"I'm not a man!" she yelled back. "I'm a girl! And don't call me Ever!"

Laxus ignored the bickering couple, and found a seat at a table close to the bar counter. "LAXUS!" Laxus groaned again looking up. "FIGHT ME!"

Laxus just held up his fist, allowing Natsu to run straight into it. "Not today fire brain." Natsu collapsed on the floor.

Mira came by, holding a bunch of drinks in her one hand. "Morning Laxus! Would you like to order anything?"

Laxus gave a wave of his hand. "Not today Mira, don't feel like going home drunk the day after a mission."

Mira smiled at him. "To bad, we're expecting a new shipment of drinks in today."

Laxus grunted. "Knowing this guild, we'll go through it in a night."

Mira laughed. "Maybe not that fast, we don't really have any heavy drinkers here." Just then a delivery man walked into the guild. "Oh, there it is now!" Mira called. She placed the drinks down on the table, before walking over to talk to the man. Laxus looked at the drinks in front of him, watching the bubbles on a Pepsi someone had ordered. He couldn't get the image of that girl out of his head. But it was just a dream right? What did it matter?

"What? This can't be right!" he looked up to Mirajane's voice. She was holding a clipboard, looking at it in dismay. "We didn't order this much."

Laxus got up, and walked towards her. "What's the problem?" he asked.

Mirajane looked at him. "The amount that we ordered is far too much for this guild. I couldn't have possibly ordered this much!"

"Maybe there was a mistake." Erza said, joining in on the conversation.

The man shook his head. "No mistake, I checked the order myself."

"Maybe you just weren't thinking and ordered too much." Laxus said. "Don't worry it won't go to waste." Mira nodded her eyes uncertain. She signed the sheet, and then went to show him where to drop it off.

"It's not like Mira to make a mistake like that." Erza thought aloud. Laxus nodded in agreement.

"It's probably nothing though." Laxus said, eye wandering the guild.

"It's not just that though." Erza said thoughtfully. "Something seems...off, with the guild today, can't you sense it?"

Laxus frowned. He was hoping it was just him, but he had felt as if something was not quite right since he walked in. "is someone away on a mission?" Laxus asked.

Erza shook her head. "Everyone's here today, other than Gildarts, but that's normal. And it's not just me that think it. I was talking Mirajane earlier. Something just doesn't feel right. Something's missing."

Laxus didn't say anything. He studied every inch of the guild, as if the building itself could give him the answer. He didn't mention it, but he had a feeling his dream might have something to do with it.

**Cana POV**

Cana yawned, stretching out her arms. She blinked a bit, before looking out the window of the train. The sun was blazing down, reflecting across the water beneath them. "Ugh, how much longer till we get there?" Cana looked in annoyance at Damien.

He smiled at her. "Not too long, we'll be there soon."

Cana huffed again. "Ugh, my head is killing me, I feel like Snow Whites seven little dwarfs are 'off to work' inside my head."

Damien laughed. "Maybe you shouldn't have drank so much then Cana."

Cana laughed, flopping back in her seat. "Well, it'll be good to see everyone again."

Damien nodded. "We've been gone for 3 months right? That's not too long."

"Sure, but still." Cana said, absentmindedly turning to look out the window. "I feel as though it's been a lot longer."

Damien smiled. "You'll be happy when you get there. You'll see."

Cana frowned. "What's that supposed to mean? Why wouldn't I be?"

Damien laughed. "No reason. Hey I'm going to go grab something to eat. I'll be right back." He leaned in and kissed Cana on the cheek, before heading into the hall. Cana blushed slightly, before yawning, and resting her feet on the empty seat in front of her. She and Damien had been dating for almost 6 months now. It had taken Damien almost 12 years to finally confess, much to Cana's annoyance. She often made fun of him for being such a coward all these years. Cana still stayed at her house her mother had left her, while Damien had his own place farther from town. Cana grinned, anticipating eating old Mrs. Goodworth's famous apple pie when she returned to her town.

Cana frowned. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to call it home. She didn't understand why, but for some reason the word just didn't fit. Damien said she was probably just over thinking it, or it was the alcohol talking. Cana just shrugged to herself, before turning herself so she was on her side. She watched, as the train moved back on land, after passing over the bridge, the humming of the train casing her to drift into slumber.

"_So you're a card mage huh?" Cana looked up to see a young boy, a few years older than her, with yellow spiked hair and a permanent scowl etched into his face. _

_Despite his foreboding features, young Cana smiled up at him. "Yup! My Mama gave me these cards for my birthday. Every time I did something good, she'd give me another one, sometimes she'd hide them in my room so I'd be encouraged to clean." _

_The boy laughed at her words. "You had a smart mother."_

_Cana grinned. "I always wanted to become a strong mage, but..."_

"_But what?" the boy asked, tilting his head. _

_Cana looked down to the ground. "I'm not very good. Even though mamma gave me a lot of cards, I'm still not very strong."_

"_Hey don't talk like that, I'm sure you'll become a great mage!" the boy protested. _

_Cana frowned. "But I have no way to learn. No one here is a card magician." _

_The boy frowned, "That's true." He put a hand to his chin, thinking. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "Hey, why don't you come on some missions with me?" _

_Cana looked surprised. "Huh?" Cana asked. _

"_Yeah!" the boy said grinning. "Me and my friends all go on missions together, so they wouldn't mind another member. That way you can practise your magic in action! There's no better way to learn than in battle!" _

_Cana looked at him, then she smiled. "Ok!" she chirped. _

_The boy smirked. "Great!" he said, patting her head. "Come on, we'll go check the board now!" the boy started walking, Cana following close behind. _

"Cana, Cana?" Cana's eyes slowly opened.

"Hmm?" she moaned.

"You fell asleep." Damien said, handing her a plate. "Got you a burger."

Cana smiled, and reached for it gratefully. "Cheese and bacon?"

"Your favourite!" Damien grinned.

Cana smiled, before taking a bite out of her burger. "You know, I had a really weird dream before you woke me up."

"Oh really?" Damien asked, biting into his burger. "About what?"

Cana shrugged. "Nothing important, just a weird dream." Damien frowned at her for a moment, before shrugging and turning back to his meal. Cana starred off out the window, unable to get the image of that boy out of her mind. _"Well who could blame me?"_ Cana asked, a smirk sneaking onto her face. "_He was incredibly cute for a young boy." _

**Hey everyone! Ok, so that wasn't very good, but I liked how the first dream turned out. Also small note- in the Cana POV, it said that they had been dating for a few months. There was no time skip in the story line, that all has to do with the memory problem, it'll go more into detail with that later in the story. Please review, tell me if you liked it or didn't. I'll update as soon as possible! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! Sorry it's taken me so long to update! Before we get to the story I want to do a shout out to Alex Darklight, who always reviews my story without fail! Honestly it means so much to me, thank you so much! And thank you to everyone else who reads my story!**

**Now on with the tale!**

**I don't own fairy tail, if I did, everyone would have hockey tournaments each week. **

**Laxus POV**

Laxus moved his head to avoid another hurling cup coming towards him. Acting as if nothing happened, he nonchalantly took another sip of his beer. He sighed in annoyance, turning to face the guild. As soon as word got out that the guild had extra alcohol, it didn't take ten seconds for the guild to turn into its regular mad house. Most of the guild had already started meaningless fights, while the rest were off doing some idiot brained scheme of their own. Laxus rolled his eyes. Did no one in the guild have any tolerance for alcohol what-so-ever?

"'Ello Laxus!" Laxus turned towards the voice. Evergreen was walking towards him, a bit on the tipsy side.

Laxus nodded towards her. "Ever, shouldn't you lay down on the beer a bit?"

Evergreen laughed. "Awl, but it's no fun without some!"

Laxus raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you drink beer anyway?"

Evergreen just laughed, and plopped down next to him, ignoring his question. "By the way, I'm pretty sure Freed is yelling at some table because it insulted your honor or something." Laxus just shrugged. Just then, Evergreen looked up, and almost dropped her glass. "You're right, I've had too much." Laxus frowned, and followed her gaze. His jaw almost dropped. There was Natsu, walking away from the fight, looking bored as heck. Natsu, walking, away, from, a fight? Those words just didn't fit together. Natsu walked over to their table, yawning, as he sat down. Ever and Laxus starred at him for a moment.

"Natsu, are you feeling ok?" Evergreen was the first to speak.

Natsu looked at her. "Huh, why wouldn't I be?"

"Usually you're in the middle of the fight acting like a monster Frankenstein." Laxus cleared up.

Natsu just shrugged. "Aw, guess I'm just not feeling it." Laxus and Evergreen looked at him for clarification. "Well, just look at this party! Sure everyone looks like their having a good time, but this party just seems empty. It seems like we're celebrating at a funeral or something." Natsu put a hand behind his head. "Man, I don't know what it is, but if feels like, man I don't know!"

"We're missing something." Laxus stated, remembering his conversation with Erza earlier.

Natsu snapped his fingers. "That's the word I'm looking for!" Natsu yawned. "Well, I'm off to bed, no use staying around here!" Natsu got up, and walked out of the guild, no one else noticing his absence. Laxus starred at his drink, trying to ignore Gray singing, 'bringing Sexy back.' (By Justin Timberlake) wondering about what Natsu said. If it was just him, Erza and Mira who noticed it, it could be overlooked, but now Natsu? Something seriously was up.

"What you up to boy?" Laxus looked behind him, to see Master walking towards him.

"Old man." Laxus greeted, as his grandfather jumped up onto the seat next to him.

"So Natsu has sensed it too huh?" Master said, watching the carnage of the guild.

Laxus didn't look at the Master. "Any idea what's going on?"

Master nodded. "I looked into it earlier. It seems that some spell has been cast on our guild."

Laxus looked at him, looking much less alarmed then he probably should have. "A spell? Are we going to do something about it?"

Master's eyes were focused intently on his hands. "It seems that the caster of this spell is extremely powerful. I haven't seen anything this complex for a long time." Master sighed. "It would take months just to figure out exactly what the spell is. Since it doesn't seem to be doing any damages I'll let it slide for now, until I see that it's causing some damages." Laxus nodded. It slightly annoyed him that they weren't going to do anything at all, but right now he didn't care. Laxus noticed, Wendy, trying to talk down a drunken Erza, and smiled a bit.

"_Ahh!" Laxus turned to see the young girl hide underneath the table. _

_He rolled his eyes. "Kid, you don't have to hide underneath the table every time a fight starts." _

_She peeked one eye open. "But it's scary out there!"_

"_Hey didn't I promise that I wouldn't let you get hurt?" she nodded. "Well don't you trust me? Come on back up, I'll treat you to an ice-cream." The girls eyes sparkled, she jumped up and sat on the seat like an expectant puppy dog. Laxus raised an eyebrow. "Well, I should bait you with ice-cream more often." The girl smiled up at him. _

_Laxus looked around, trying to think of something to say. "So, what magic can you do with those cards of yours anyway?" _

_The girls' eyes shined. "A bunch of stuff. I can communicate with people who are far away, summon all different things, use different elements,"_

"_Including lighting?" Laxus asked, interested. _

_The girl's eyes dimmed slightly. "No, I can't. I always wanted to, but Lightening cards are rare, and mommy wasn't able to find one. I can't find one either." _

_Laxus nodded, storing that information for a later date. "Anything else?"_

_The girl put a finger to her lips, thinking. "I can do a little bit of fortune telling."_

"_Fortune telling?" Laxus asked. _

_She nodded. "Only a little. I'm not very good at it."_

"_Show me." Laxus asked. _

_The girl looked nervous. "Ok. Is a general fortune good for you?" _

_Laxus shrugged. "Whatever works for you." The girl nodded. She reached into her pack, and piled out a stack of cards. _

"_Pick three." The girl said. Laxus raised an eyebrow, but he picked three from the pile, and placed them face down on the table. "Now put your hand on the cards." Laxus did what she said. She reached her hand, and held it just above his, her hand glowing above his. Laxus watched as the light died out. Then she grabbed the cards, and flipped them over. "See this first one?" Laxus studied it. It had champion signs on it, with lightning bolts in the background. "That means you're going to be really strong, thought of as a champion by most." She looked to the next one. "See how this one has a man, looking down two paths, but going down one?" Laxus nodded. Down the path he had chosen, there was a small pit of fire, but farther on, there were patches of grass and flowers. "This means there you're going to make some big mistakes, but those mistakes will help you grow, and you'll become stronger because of it. Now this last one." she pointed at it. On it were two younger children, a boy and a girl, holding hands, but it seemed like the boy was holding on slightly to tight, and the girl was wincing back in pain."This shows that you will fall in love with someone that you've known for a long time. Not necessarily your entire life, but a good chunk of it. But it also shows that your mistakes will really hurt her, and the two of you will drift apart." _

"_Will we get back together?" Laxus asked._

_The girl looked up at him. "Possibly, can't say." After a moment of silence. "But I think so. At least if you're asking my judgment." _

_Laxus nodded. "How about I get you that ice-cream now?"_

"Laxus, Laxus?" Laxus' eyes snapped back to attention, as he looked down at his grandfather.

"Huh?" Laxus asked, unintelligent-ly.

Master sighed. "I was wondering if you had any missions planned."

Laxus nodded. "E, right. Tomorrow my team and I are heading out to catch some bandits or something in some forest near a small town."

Makrov nodded, studying his grandson's face. "You alright m'boy?"

Laxus just nodded. "Err, yeah, I'm fine." He said, distracted. _"That girl again." _Laxus thought. The dream was different this time too. "Say pops." Makrov nodded. "Did we, was there ever, a brunette girl, a card mage, I think, who came here? I might have played with her as a kid."

Makrov tilted his head, thinking. "A brunette card mage. Not to my knowledge boy. Why?"

Laxus shook his head. "No reason. It's probably just the alcohol talking."

**Cana POV**

Cana jumped out of the train, and stretched out her arms. "Aww feels so good to be back!"

Damien stepped out behind her. "You sound like an old lady."

Cana glared at him. "Oh shut up." Cana said pouting.

Damien laughed, and threw an arm around her shoulder, hugging her closer to him. "Alright, let's head to Mrs. Goodworth's bakery." Cana's eyes shinned, as she grinned. She walked out of her boyfriends grasp, and started walking into the town. She smiled, the laughter of children from the small school house ringing in her eyes. She loved this town. Soon enough, she got to the center of town, and found Mrs Goodworth's bakery.

She kicked open the door, and stepped in and called. "I"M BACK!" everyone turned to look at her. Smiles soon grew on everyone's faces, as they recognized her.

"Hey! It's little old Cana!" Cana looked up to see Mr. Trench walking towards her. He was a larger man, with an orange mustache, but he had a kind smile. He worked at the Magic items store in downtown. He grabbed Cana and picked her up in a bear hug. "Well, look at how much you've grown lass! Why, I remember when you were just a wee ol' toddler, and you used ta come to my shop looking for them cards of yours with yer mother!"

Cana laughed, or at least tried to, as she struggled to breath. "h-hey Mr. Trench, would you mind letting me down?" Mr. Trench blinked in surprise, before setting her down.

"Stop hogging the poor girl Trench!" Cana turned to see Mr. Johnson, a farmer for the town, and Damien's Uncle. He smiled at Cana. "Cana darling, how you been?" he asked, pulling her into a firm hug, her breath came out in an oof.

She smiled. "Fine thanks, hey how's the farm doing? Damien told me you were having some trouble with one of your horses."

Mr. Johnson smiled. "Nothing I can't handle. I may be old but I'm not quite that old!"

"Stop suffocating the girl!" Mrs Goodworth called from over the counter. She was a bit big, but nothing to noticeable. She wore a large white apron, covered with cooking stains. "Cana must be tired from her long travel to get here." She turned and smiled at Cana. "Hey sweetie, want anything? It's on the house!"

Cana smiled, taking a seat at the counter. "Thanks, I'm starved! I'll take a bottle of beer, and a slice of apple pie."

The lady frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry darling; we're all out of pie." Cana's jaw dropped, her facing looking like a heart broken kittens. Mrs. Goodworth laughed. "I'm just messing with ya sweetie. You know I always have some on stock!" Mrs Goodworth turned. "Hey Esther, grab me a beer would ya?"

Esther turned. She was a young girl, around Cana's age. She had pretty green eyes, and blond hair, held up in a bun. She wore a waitress' outfit, a green dress with a white apron. She smiled. "Sure, just give me a sec." She smiled, running over to give Cana a hug. "Cana, it's been so long, I've missed you!"

Cana laughed, "Essie, your talking like an old lady. I will not have my best friend turn into an old lady before I do!"

Esther laughed. "I'll be right out with that beer for you!" she said, walking into to kitchen. Cana smiled, as some people from town came to crowd around her.

"So how have you been?" Cana looked up to see the blacksmith there, smiling down at her. "What have you been up to?"

Cana shrugged, Damien walking over and sitting next to her. "Oh it wasn't that big. Magnolia is an ok town, but Damien here only let me shop for a little while, and I couldn't find any good bars."

All the people around her frowned, and looked at each other. "That's great Cana, but what have you been doing all this time? You must be doing more than shopping and going in bar's." Mr. Johnson asked.

Cana shrugged again. "Well other than train rides, there wasn't much to do. I mean I was only gone for three months."

Everyone starred at her for a moment. "Three months?" they asked simultaneously.

Cana nodded. "Well I'm not sure how accurate that is. You'd have to ask Damien, since I was drunk the entire time. Even though we've been going out for six months, I still don't entirely trust my boyfriend."

Just then, a crash of glass was heard. Everyone turned, to see Esther standing there, a broken bottle at her feet. Her eyes were slightly watery, her hands were shaking. "B-B-B-BOYRFIEND!?"

**Hey everyone! I know this one took a while to do, SORRY! I'm not too happy with how the scene at Fairy tail turned out, but I wrote it pretty late at night, so I guess I wasn't in tip top shape. I hope you liked it, and please Review! :D **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey Everyone! here's the Next Chapter, please Review! Also, while I'm at it, if anyone wants to message me with couples from fairy tail that they want me to write stories for I'll try to do that. (I won't do all couples keep in mind.)**

**I don't own Fairy tail. If I did, Jellal would have some guts and would have kissed Erza by now. **

**Esther POV **

Esther followed as Mr. Trench, Mr Johnson and Jack Jameson, the blacksmith's son, lead Damien into another room. Cana was still sitting at the counter, diving into her second slice of pie, talking to Mrs. Goodworth about some new cards that Damien had bought her for her birthday.

Mr Trench turned and closed the door securely behind him. There was a small window in the door, so he stood in front of it so Cana wouldn't see.

Mr. Johnson crossed his arms, and looked at Damien. "What have you done boy?" he asked, his eyes blazing.

Damien just stood there, smiling sweetly. "I'm sorry?" he asked.

"Don't ye' play stupid with us lad!" Mr. Trench interrupted. "what Magi' brained scheme is this?"

"Cana thinks that this place is still her home." Jack said. "She's talking about things that she shouldn't even know about! How Mrs. Rodgers had a baby eight months ago. Mrs. Rodgers wasn't even Mrs. Rodgers when Cana lived here!"

Damien shrugged. "Ok, I might have used some magic spell on her memory."

"Might have!" Mr. Trench exclaimed.

"What's the big deal?" Damien asked. "It's not like you guys didn't miss her. Aren't you happy to have her back?" he turned to Esther. "Esther, she's your best friend, now it can be how it used to! The three of us, hanging out like we used to, aren't you happy you have your best friend back?"

Esther just stood there, her mouth hanging open. How could he ask her something like that? Of course Esther was happy to see Cana again, but not like this. Didn't Damien ever realize, how much it hurt her? Even when they were kids, Damien would always chase after Cana, and never pay attention to her. Didn't he notice her inward sobs, as he would write her every day, putting little hearts at the bottom, noticing Cana like she wished he would notice her? Esther had thought he had finally gotten over her. He hadn't talked about her for a long length of time for a while. He had even complemented Esther on how her eyes shined in the sun. This last past year had been one of her happiest; Damien had finally started noticing her. And now, he does this? "Damien," she started, but didn't want to say much, for fear the tears would come out.

"That's not the issue lad!" Mr. Trench interrupted, much to Esther's relief. "'Course we're happy to see her, but not like this! The lass deserves to have her true memory back, we can't hog the girl all t' ourselves you know."

"And what's this about you being her boyfriend?" Jack added. Damien went silent. "I bet I know that happened." Jack continued. "You went there, and found out that she had found another boy didn't you? She had moved on and you couldn't handle that, that Cana might love someone else more than she likes you?" Jack took a step closer to him. "You couldn't handle sharing her? Couldn't handle the thought that someone else might like Cana, might be more deserving..."

"He didn't deserve her." Damien interrupted. His eyes blazing. "That guy was no good for her, she deserves better."

"Oh and that 'better' just happened to be you?" Jack questioned.

"This ends here Damien." Mr. Johnson said. "You're going to return her memory, now."

Damien frowned, his eyes narrowing. "no." All eyes looked at him. "No, I'm not going to send her back there, this is her home."

"Was her home!" Jack said again. "She has another home, other people who miss her."

"I said she's not." Just then, Damien's aura started glowing, an unmistakable dark magic emanating from him. Everyone walked away from him, their backs pressed against the wall.

"Calm down there Lad." Mr. Trench said, slowly.

"She is not going back. And none of you, or anyone else in this town, is going to notice anything out of the ordinary, everyone is going to act like everything's normal, and we're all going to enjoy Cana being here."

"And if we happen to tell her?" Jack said, trying to be brave.

Damien looked at him, his eyes glowing black, (eyes don't really glow black do they?) "You guys all remember what happened when that boy tried to steal from me earlier this year?" no one dared say a word. "I think it took him, oh, 3 hours, to finally stop screaming? He sure was a fighter though wasn't he?" he looked at them all, smiling. "I would just hate it if that happened to someone you guys care about, wouldn't you?"

**Evergreen POV. **

Ever growled in annoyance. Not only had her team spent half the day on the train, her partners still hung-over after last night's party- seriously, did they never learn. But then when she got here, she found out they had to destroy at least 7 different bandit hideouts, all at least a mile by car into the forest. Then, if it wasn't bad enough, treading into the forest with her high heeled boots, one of the bandits they fought, decided it would be a fun idea to spatter her with Ketchup. Ketchup! Of all things!

"I'm a mess!" she whined, trying desperately to whip the ketchup out of her hair. "EW, this is disgusting."

"Just wash up when we get back to the inn." Bixlow called, his little dolls all agreeing with him. They were back in town now, having just met with their client. He was the mayor of the town. Something that seemed weird to Ever was that when he talked about getting rid of the bandits, it sounded like he was more worried for them, then he was for the people in the town, like they were the ones that needed to be scared away for their protection.

"I must admit, this town is rather cute." Freed said, breaking Ever out of her thoughts.

"It's a small town." Laxus said, walking ahead of them. "It's kind of old fashioned, there aren't very many magic users here, though they have a magic shop."

"Laxus has such insight!" Freed said.

"How did you know that Laxus?" Ever asked.

Laxus shrugged. "Someone told me, don't remember who."

Evergreen raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. The group of them finally arrived at their hotel. It was a small one, but it was cute. Evergreen got a room all to herself, it was smaller than the one the guys had, but it worked. She got in the shower, and spent the next hour in there. Then, she got out, and collapsed onto her futon, falling asleep almost instantly.

_Evergreen huffed in annoyance. Why did she have to come? Evergreen glared at the little brunette girl, who was holding onto Laxus' hand like he was her lifeline. Ever scowled. She sure had some guts, to try to take HER Laxus! _

_Ever had had a crush on Laxus since the moment she saw him. How could you not? He was so strong, the strongest in the guild, and he was INCREDIBLY good looking! It was hard enough to get some alone time with him with the two annoyances around, but now this girl just pops in, and somehow thinks she owns him? She wasn't even at his level. Laxus was 15, and the girl couldn't be older than 13! Laxus could do SO much better, A.K.A Evergreen. (I know the ages are wrong, sorry about that.)_

_Laxus looked up. "This is the Motel here. We'll rest here for the night." He looked down at the girl, who was clutching his hand. "You can't stay in the same room as me." _

_She looked up at him, giving the cutest puppy dog eyes that made Ever want to spit. "I don't want to stay alone." _

_Laxus turned. "Hey Ever! Do you mind if she stays with you tonight?" _

_Ever bit her lip. "That's fine." She said through her teeth. _

_Later in the room, the girl was sitting at the desk, looking through her cards. Ever walked over to her, and slammed her hand on the desk. The girl looked up at her expectantly. "Look girl." Ever started. "Let's get one thing straight. You may like Laxus, but he is not yours, He is mine. Laxus can do so much better than you, he is to strong and way to good looking to settle for someone like you."_

"_But not for someone like you?" the girl asked._

"_Of course!" Evergreen said, flipping her hair. "Someone as perfect as Laxus could only end up with someone as amazing as me!" _

_The girl starred at her for a moment. "I don't think Laxus is perfect." _

_Ever stopped. "Excuse me?"_

_The girl continued. "Sure, Laxus is strong, and kind, -at least to me and you guys- and good looking. But he's also cocky, and has too much pride. He doesn't listen to other people's judgment over his own, he values strength, and peoples view of him and Fairy tail over being happy. Also, even though he cares about people, he struggles with showing it."_

_Evergreen sputtered. "H-How dare you say something like that!" _

_The girl looked at her. "If you're going to love someone, then you should be able to see the imperfections as well as the perfections, and be able to love them despite it. Isn't that what I means to love, loving all of them, not just the good things, but the bad too?" Ever was at a loss for words. The girl then smiled. "I like you; you want to be my friend?" _

Evergreen's eyes flashed open. "What the heck?"

**Not trying to be vain here, but I actually like how this one turned out. Sure it could have been a lot better, but it wasn't too bad in my books. I hope you guys enjoyed it, please Review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! I'm really tired right now, so I don't really have anything to say.**

**I don't own Fairy tail. If I did, I'd make Cana have more screen time.**

**Cana POV**

Cana glanced to the door where Damien and the others had disappeared to, while taking a sip of her beer. Esther, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Trench had come back, all looking extremely shaken, but Damien had taken Jack out back to talk to him.

"Hey Esther!" Esther looked over to her, shoving her notepad into her apron pocket after taking a few orders.

"Yeah Cana?" she asked, walking over to her.

"What was it you guys were talking about in there?" she asked.

Esther, bit her lip, suddenly nervous. Cana winced a bit. "Err, nothing important." Cana didn't buy it. Esther had been her best friend for years; she could always tell when something was up.

Cana tilted her head, examining her for a moment. At the same time, she knew when no amount of pestering would get her to confess. "Alright." Cana stood up. "Hey, to celebrate my return, how about a girls night out?"

Esther blinked. "Huh?" she asked.

Cana grinned. "I'll just head back to my place, then I'll meet you at Joe's bar, around 8 ok?" Cana started walking

"W-wait!" Esther said, her voice stuttering. "m-my shift doesn't end till 8:30!"

Cana smirked. "Don't worry, I'll be fine on my own for half an hour." And with that Cana walked out the door. It took Cana about 10 minutes to get to her house. It looked just the same as she had left it. It was a simple one story house, with red paint, and magical flower pots out front. The furniture in the house was a variety of shades, between red, orange yellow, and a few purple here and there, while her walls were the colour of dark brown. There were only 5 rooms, the kitchen, which was opened into the sitting room, the small bathroom, and two bedrooms. One was Cana's old bedroom from when she was little, but she usually left it closed, other than when she had guests over.

Cana walked to her bedroom, and threw her bag onto her bed. She then went to take a shower. After she was finished, she threw on a blue tank top and blue jeans. As she was walking into the other room, she noticed her orange jacket. Involuntarily, Cana picked up the sweater, and hugged it. She took a breath in, and smelt what was unmistakably the scent of thunder before a thunder storm. She smiled slightly. She didn't know why, but the jacket made her feel calm, and loved. Just then, Cana heard a knock at the door. "Coming!" she called. She threw on her sweater and she ran to get the door. She opened the door, and didn't even have the time to say anything, before she felt someone crush their lips into hers. Her eyes shot wide open, as she shoved back her attacker. "Damien! What was that for?"

Damien just smiled innocently. "I need a reason to kiss my girlfriend?" Cana scowled at him. "May I come in?" Damien asked sweetly.

Cana sighed. "Fine, come on in before I lock you outside in the cold."

Damien gasped. "You wouldn't do that!" but even still, he stepped inside quickly.

"So what did you want?" Cana asked, walking into the kitchen.

Damien walked steadily behind her. "Oh jeeze, first I need a reason to kiss my girlfriend, now a need a reason to visit her? Man what has this world come to?"

Cana just rolled her eyes, as she poured him a glass of beer. The two sat at her dinner table. "Yes you do Damien, just cause I'm your girlfriend doesn't mean you own me."

"It doesn't?" Damien asked looking surprised. "But Cana's mine! I'm the only one who gets to kiss you!"

Cana shuddered. "Why is it that when other boyfriends act possessive around their girlfriends, it's cute, but when you do it I feel like I'm being stalked?"

"You hurt me Cana!" Damien said, faking hurt. "How can you be so mean to me?"

Cana laughed. "Ok, ok, seriously, is there something you wanted?"

Damien smiled. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go out tonight. For dinner or something?"

Cana frowned. "Oh sorry, but Esther and me were going to head out to the bar tonight."

Damien didn't look troubled. "Ok, so it'll be the three of us!"

Cana laughed. "No Damien, Girls night. A.K.A no boys allowed?"

"Not even boyfriends?"

"Especially not boyfriends."

Damien pouted. "When we were little, you guys let me come to your girls' nights."

Cana smirked. "Ok, if you're still willing to dress up as a girl, wig and breasts in all, and talk about boys you're welcome to come."

Damien's face turned red. "Err, alright. But I better be the only boy you talk about."

Cana laughed, and walked over and gave him a hug. "It's not like there are any better boys to talk about in this small town. Now scoot. I need to rest so I have enough energy tonight."

Damien laughed but consented, getting out of his seat and heading to the door. "Love you doll." Cana opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Finally, she just smiled, and nodded. Damien closed the door behind him.

As soon as he left Cana went to her room, and plopped on her bed. She looked on her bed stand, and noticed to picture on it. It was her mother, with her father; they were both around 20 at the time, on their first date at a carnival. Her mother's hair was brown like her own, and tied in a long braid behind her head. She wore a plain blue button down shirt, with blue jeans. Her father wore a red t-shirt and jeans. He was smiling like an idiot, pulling Cana's mother towards him, closer than she had expected. Cana's mother's face was bright red, her eye looking down. Cana smiled at the photo. She had never met her father; they had broken up before she met him. But Cana knew for certain that her mother never stopped loving him. Cana took the picture, and kissed it lightly.

"Love you guys." She whispered, before placing the photo back, and resting her head on the pillow, her eyelids falling lightly.

_Cana sat at the table, sipping out of her juice box. She looked around 11 right now. She had her cards set out in front of her. The blond boy from before sitting beside her, his elbow on the table, propping up his head, as she explain what attacks each could do. _

"_Have you tried combining cards?" he asked. _

_Cana frowned. "Combining cards? I've heard of that, but never tried it myself."_

"_You should, then you'd have more attack options. Here, tomorrow we'll head to the library, and look for a book that could tell us a bit more about it."_

_Cana's eyes sparkled. "That'd be great!" the boy smiled down at her. _

"_I'd be careful there boy." Cana looked up, to see an older man standing behind them, with dark blue spiky hair, and a slight goatee. "Keep doing stuff for the girl and you'll spoil her. If you keep spending your time with her you'll never get better yourself, carrying a burden around all the time." The boy turned, and laughed. He started talking with him, his hand still on the table, but Cana didn't hear them. _

_She starred down at her cards. Cana was a burden? She had never meant for that. She had been so grateful to have her friend; she hadn't even stopped to think that it might be a bother for him. Of course he didn't really want to be there, he had his own training to do didn't he? But he was far too nice to tell Cana off. Cana didn't want him to think of her as a burden. _

_The boy laughed again, and looked down at Cana. "Hey kid, I'm going to head out, I'll be back in a few hours ok?" Cana just nodded. He studied her. "Hey you ok?"_

_Cana turned so he couldn't see her face. "I'm fine." _

_The boy was silent for a moment, then he shrugged. "Ok, I'll see you later." The boy reached over, and pat her on the head, before walking off. Cana watched him walk off, as her own resolve set. _

_Cana walked through the forest, her right hand gripped on her purse strap, the other gripping a piece of paper. She had grabbed a request sheet, and slipped out of the guild before anyone noticed. She wasn't too sure what the mission was; only that she was killing some monster in this town. I wasn't supposed to be too hard, and if she could do this, He wouldn't think of her as a burden._

_Suddenly Cana felt a tremor. Before she even had time to look up, she went flying into a large tree. Cana winced, putting a hand to her hurt face. She crouched on the ground, looking up. There was the monster a large scaly thing. It looked like something between a gorilla and a dinosaur. Its body and legs were that of a T-Rex, but its arms and head where shaped like a gorilla's despite being covered in scales. The creature yelled, and pounded his chest. Cana swiftly reached into her bag, and took out a card, which she threw at the creature. It exploded near his head, and he stumbled back. The thing roared, and charged towards Cana. She took out another card, and placed it on the ground. A huge hole appeared in the ground, about as big as the monster. The thing ran right into it, falling onto his head. It went silent._

_Cana breathed heavily, from her adrenaline and fear. For a moment she smiled, thinking she had won. Then, just as she closed her eyes, she felt herself being crushed. Her eyes flew open, to see that the creature had reached up and grabbed her. He squeezed her in his hand, and Cana cried out in pain. Then the creature threw her roughly into another tree. Cana felt the wind being knocked out of her. She barely had time to look up before the creature was out of the hole, and barreling towards her. Shaking, she grabbed another card, and a small dome encircled her, about a meter away from her. The creature smashed on it, and Cana winced back in fear, willing the shield to grow stronger. Then the creature stood up, and smashed his foot into the dome. Cana screamed, as the shield cracked, falling on her almost like glass, cutting her in a few places. Cana looked up, to see the creature raising his arm high above his head. Cana closed her eyes, bracing herself against the attack. After a few seconds she felt nothing. Slowly, she peaked one of her eyes open. Above her the young boy was standing there, holding back the creature's fist with one hand, his body facing Cana. She couldn't see his face, as shadows were hiding it form view, but Cana didn't need to see to know he was mad. _

_He turned back to the monster, and used his other hand to punch the creature, sending it flying. His hands were yellow, and sparking. He ran towards the creature again, and kicked it in the gut. The creature grunted in pain. Then the boy started a volley of punches and kicks, his whole body sparking with electricity. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY FRIENDS EVER AGAIN!" he yelled a word with every hit, finally sending it flying with one hard hit. The creature blew through a bunch of trees, laying dazed a little ways off. _

_There was a moment of silence; Cana was able to hear the boy breathing heavily, alongside her own breath. Then the boy turned towards her, she could see his eyes blazing, and suddenly Cana wished she had stayed with the monster. "What, the heck, where you thinking?!" the boy started, his fists clenched as he walked over to Cana. "A Trivocular? Really Cana, why the heck would you even try fighting that, all by yourself? Were you just trying to get yourself killed? You're lucky Ever noticed you leaving and told me. I mean, by, the." He put his hands on his head, struggling to find the words to vent his frustration. "Do you know how worried the guild was Cana, how worried I WAS? Do you even know how scarred I was? You could have been killed! I, I don't know what I'd do with myself if you..." he took a shaky breath. "Why, Why Why would you do that?"_

_Cana was silent for a moment. Then the tears started falling down her cheeks, her physical pain and shaking fear catching up with her. "I'm sorry," she said, through her tears. "I, I didn't mean to make anyone worry. I just, I heard you guys talking about how I was a burden to you, and I didn't want that. I don't want you to hate me." She sniffed. "So, I took a mission. I didn't realize how dangerous it was; I just wanted to show you that I don't have to be a burden." Cana cried for a few minutes, the boy making no move to help her. _

_Then he walked over to Cana, and pulled her into a hug. "Ssh, shh it's ok Cana. I'm sorry I didn't mean to get mad at you like that. You just scared me for a moment ok." Cana didn't say anything, as she hid her face into his shoulder. "You're not a burden to me ok? They guys and I were just joking around, we didn't actually mean it. I enjoy having you around; everything is more fun when you're around. You look at everything with such wonder, it making it a lot more fun to do missions." He paused for a moment to let that sink in. "so you don't have to go trying to prove yourself to me, or anyone in the guild. We all know you're a great mage, and we all care about you a lot. And if you ever want to try to do missions on your own that fine, just be careful, and don't try anything to hard ok?" Cana nodded into his shoulder, sniffling again. He pulled away from her for a moment to look at her. "Jeeze, you got yourself beat up didn't ya?" he put a hand on her cheek. "Man that's going to bruise. Come on, I'll bring you back and get you bandaged up. Can you walk?" _

_Cana shook her head, not trusting her shaking legs to hold her weight. The boy sighed, and lifted her easily in his arms bridal style. Cana curled up against his chest as he walked. Cana smiled slightly, he smelled like the smell that came just before a thunder storm._

**Erza/Mira POV**

Erza and Mira talked lightly, as they walked through the halls of Fairy tail girls' dorm.

"So who's off on missions now?" Mira asked.

Erza frowned thoughtfully. "I know Laxus and his guys all left early this morning for some S-class mission. Natsu and Lucy also left for a mission, and so did Gray and Juvia.

"Uh oh, Gray and Juvia?" Mira said frowning. "I'm not saying her, err, little crush, on Gray is a bad thing, but I hope it doesn't get in the way of their work."

Erza laughed. "Don't worry; I'm sure Juvia will be able to focus enough." Mira smiled. They were silent for a moment. "Did you feel the same today as you did yesterday?" Erza asked.

Mira nodded, frowning. "More prominent today. It almost makes me sad, I feel like something I care about is missing. The guild just doesn't feel right without it."

Erza nodded. "I wonder why the master decided not to do anything about it. Even Natsu is noticing it now, surely that's enough cause for alarm."

"But no one is really getting harmed right now." Mira pointed out. "I guess he doesn't think that it's anything serious, and it's just something that will pass."

"But it just doesn't seem like the master, to let something like that go so easily." Erza persisted.

Mira nodded thoughtfully. "This may be irrelevant, but I had this really strange dream last night."

"Absolutely irrelevant, but please continue." Erza noted.

"It was weird. There was a brunette girl, not someone I've seen around the guild hall before. Last night, I dreamed that she was new to the guild, and she was hanging out with Laxus a lot. I think she was about 9, the same age as me, and Laxus was 11."

"A young girl hanging out with Laxus?" Erza commented. "That is a strange dream."

Mira nodded. "I walked over to the girl, and challenged her to a fight, but she looked so scarred. Eventually I apologized, and she told me she's not very good at magic, and Laxus is trying to teach her. She told me she was a card mage. I said that beast takeover magic and card magic are pretty similar, so I would help her out to. She smiled, and gave me a hug."

"Did she tell you her name?" Erza questioned.

Mira shook her head, and frowned. "And what even weirder, is earlier today when I dozed off a bit during my break, I had another dream with her. This time it was not long after Lisanna's death, and I was crying by the water. The girl was holding me, telling me not to feel bad. She said that she knew that it wasn't my fault, and Lisanna would have never blamed me. She said that Lisanna wouldn't have wanted to see me cry; she would have wanted to see me happy, and keep living for her sake. Then the girl smiled at me, and said, that the entire guild missed Lisanna, but they'd all be even sadder if they couldn't see my smile." Mira was silent for a moment.

"That is strange." Erza commented. "The same girl, in two different dreams?"

Mira nodded. "And it was so vivid to. Dreams aren't usually like that." Erza nodded in agreement. "Well, I better head to my room now. It's down this hall here, see you later Erza." Erza nodded, but then stopped in her tracks. "Erza?" Mira questioned.

Erza was silent for a moment, starring at a room door, next to the two for her own. "Mira, who stays in here?"

Mira frowned confused. "No one's ever stayed there, as long as I can remember. Why?"

Erza was silent for a moment, before shaking her head. "It's nothing. Just a feeling. Good night Mira." Mira nodded before waving good night. Erza walked into her room, and brushed her teeth, reequipping into her PJ's at the same time. She fell on her bed, and starred at the ceiling, thinking about Mira's dream. Did it have anything to do with the magic spell over the guild? Was the girl the one who cast the spell? Erza turned, onto her side, and closed her eyes.

"_Come on it'll be fun." The voice drawled. _

"_No thanks, maybe another time." A girl's voice replied. _

"_Aww, why not?" the first voice responded. Erza looked up from the book she was reading. She was in the guild hall, at a few tables away from her, sat a young girl, around the same age as her, (14 maybe) sitting next to another boy Cana didn't recognize. The boy looked a bit drunk, while the girl, who probably drank about as much as him, looked perfectly fine, and perfectly annoyed at his attempts to flirt._

_Erza turned to Mira (young evil version-ish Mira). "Hey Mira, who's the new guy?" _

_Mira turned to her, and grinned her evil grin. "Oh no one, just some guy coming through town with his cousin, and wanted to see the guild, and just happened to take a shine on our favorite card mage."_

"_He's annoying." Someone muttered. Erza turned, to see Laxus sitting on a bar stool behind her, starring at the boy and girl with annoyance. _

_Mira smirked. "Aww, is poor Laxus jealous?" _

_Laxus snorted. "Me jealous, of that guy? Don't be ridiculous."_

"_Well you sure seem annoyed with how close he is to our card mage." Mira said grinning._

_Laxus rolled his eyes. "Look, even if I did think about her the way you say I do, I would not be jealous of that guy. Look at him, he's annoying the heck out of her, and the guy can't even hold his alcohol."_

"_But he is cute, and is getting all of her attention." Mira added. Laxus ignored that. _

"_It's just one date!" the boy said again. He put an arm around the girl, but she shrugged it off. _

"_No Will, go away." The girl replied. _

"_You'll have a great time, I'll even let you kiss me after!" he said. _

_The girl scoffed. "You, allow me to kiss you?" the girl asked in disbelief._

_Will nodded. "Here, I'll even give you a beforehand trial." Before the girl could even say anything, the boy reached out and grabbed her chin, and started to pull it towards his. Before Erza could even say anything, she saw a flash of light, and the next second, she saw Will flying towards the wall, Laxus standing behind the girl. The girl blinked in surprise, looking up at Laxus. _

_Will looked up, his hand on the side of his face. "Dude what the heck?" he exclaimed, annoyed. _

"_I suggest you leave." Laxus said. Erza could hear the threat in his voice._

_Will straightened, trying to look tough. "Why should I..."_

"_I SUGGEST YOU LEAVE." Laxus said, louder now, his voice a dangerous calm. Erza could see sparks flying from him. Will was silent for a moment, before huffing, and walking out of the guild, trying to uphold his dignity, Laxus' eyes not leaving him for a second. _

_Erza watched, in amazement at Laxus' actions. Beside her, Mira snickered. "Nice knight in shining armor routine." Mira commented. "Yup, not jealous at all."_

Erza's eyes shot open. Without a doubt the girl in her dream was the same one from the dream Mira had been telling her about.

"What the heck is going on here?"

**Hello everyone! Gosh that one took awhile. Thanks everyone for the reviews, and for continuing to read this story! I know the first part of this chapter went really slow, but I think it got better the farther it went. Hope you enjoyed it, please review! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi! I've been volunteering this week, so I am very tired! The kids are amazing though, so I'm still very happy!**

**I don't own Fairy Tail; if I did there would be a love potion episode. (Wait, there was a bit of one wasn't there?)**

**Esther POV**

Esther sat with Cana in a booth at the bar. Cana had already ordered them both some fries, and enough bear for the town. Esther wasn't really the heaviest drinker, but she took one to be polite. Cana talked happily, telling Esther about some of the shopping she did in Magnolia. It was hard for her though, her memories were a bit muddled. Esther guessed that Damien hadn't focused too much on her memories in Magnolia, probably wanted to skip over them as soon as possible so Cana didn't think too much about it. Esther smiled, listening to Cana laugh, as she swung another bottle. Even though Esther hadn't really talked to Cana in years, it felt refreshing to see her happy. She had been scared when Cana had first left. She had been only 8 years old, and had left alone, with nothing more than her dog.

"_Essie, Essie wake up." Esther slowly opened her eyes. She looked up to see Cana, standing over her. Damien was sleeping in the room next to them. They were at Esther's house, having a sleepover. Cana hadn't left since her mother died, other than to visit her grave. _

"_Cana?" Esther asked sleepily. "What's going on, I'm sleepy."_

"_I'm leaving." Cana said simply._

_Esther frowned. "Leaving? Leaving where? Going to get food?" _

_Cana shook her head. "I'm leaving town."_

_Esther frowned. "What? But why?"_

"_Because I'm afraid that he's going to find me."_

"Esther!" Esther blinked in surprise. "Esther you ok? Gosh, I thought I was drinking too much."

"Oh, no I'm sorry Cana, I was just thinking. What were you saying?"

Cana raised an eyebrow. "You sure you're ok?"

Esther smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine!"

Cana frowned. "Ookk? Anyway, I need to ask you something."

"What do you need?" Esther asked.

Cana was silent for a moment. "What was Damien talking to you about earlier at the bakery?" Esther was silent. She grabbed a bottle and took a swig, Cana just watched her.

"o-oh that? It was nothing! Just some catching up nothing important!"

"I'm serious Esther." Cana said slowly. "You can tell me. If something's going on I have the right to know." Esther bit her lip. Even though Damien had replaced most of Cana's memories, there was still a lot about Damien she didn't know. A lot about this town, that Cana had missed. "Err; I don't think Damien would want me talking about it." Esther replied.

"If Damien has a problem with it he can come talk to me. He shouldn't be hiding anything from me anyway." Cana replied quickly. Esther stayed silent. After a moment of Cana studying Esther, she spoke. "You like him, don't you?"

Esther practically jumped from her seat. "h-huh?"

Cana lay back in her seat, holding onto her bottle with her right hand. "It's not like you hide it really well. Damien's an idiot, so he couldn't see it from a mile away, but I'm not that stupid. I can't believe I only figured it out today, how could I be so stupid?"

"_That's because all your memories are from Damien."_ Esther thought, wincing. "I, um, no, you got it all wrong Cana, I, I'd never..."

"What like someone?" Esther's mouth closed. "There's no crime in liking someone, even if that person is taken."

"You-you aren't mad?" Esther asked

Cana grinned. "Heck no, girls before guys remember? Esther, you're my best friend, I'm not going to get mad at you just because you like my boyfriend." Cana smirked. "But don't take that as surrender, I'm not going to hand him over to you like that, got it?" Esther gave a shy smile. "And if Damien does pick you," Esther was surprised at how easily she said it, "then I'll just threaten him that I'll destroy him if he hurts you!"

Esther bit her lip. "No, you can't Cana. You aren't strong enough."

Cana frowned, and turned to her. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm defiantly strong enough to beat Damien he's not that strong."

"He's a lot stronger than you think." Esther said, not looking at her. "_And he's done a lot more then I can bear to say."_

Cana narrowed her eyebrows. "I'm insulted at your lack of trust in me! Damien may be strong, but there's no way he could possibly be strong enough to..."

"Cana I really don't want to talk about this right now, alright? You don't know anything!" Esther snapped. Cana was silent for a moment. Esther put a hand to her mouth, regretting her words. "I, um, I" fortunately, Esther didn't have to say anything. Just as Esther opened her mouth to apologize, both of them heard a door smash. They both turned towards the sound. Standing in the front entrance, was a man Esther had never seen before.

He had a strong aura that was unmistakable. Esther felt like she had just walked into a lightning storm just by him walking into the room. His hair was spiked up, and was a striking shade of yellow. He wore a simple red t-shirt, and blue jeans, along with a large brown coat with fur edges. His coat was practically forgotten, merely draped over his shoulders almost like a cape, the sleeves hanging loosely by his sides. Despite his well toned features, and his attractive face that shouldn't have been legal, that wasn't what caught Esther's eye. It was his large scar, running down his right eye, in an unmistakable lightening shape. The man was breathtaking, and mysterious, and deadly. Esther felt shivers run down her spine looking at him. She could easily picture this guy standing outside in the middle of a tornado, just because his presence there would piss of the storm.

The man looked a bit tired, his eyes had the slightest bags underneath, but he still held himself tall. Even with most of the bar starring at him, he acted completely at ease, as he walked over to a corner and took a seat. Slowly, conversations started again, but most people still kept a wary eye on the man.

Esther starred at him for a moment, before turning back to Cana. "Err- sorry, what were we talking about again?"

Cana didn't answer. Her eyes were still trained on the man. "Who's that?"

Esther blinked in surprise, surprised that Cana had transferred subjects so easily, but was grateful for it none the less. "I don't know, he's not anyone I've seen around before." Esther turned to look at the man, watching as he took a drink of his beer. "It's strange to get visitors in town; we don't get visitors more than once every three months. Maybe he's passing through?" Cana was silent. Esther glanced at her, and noticed, just for a second, a small flash of purple in the center of her eye. Esther knew that sign, she had seen it on many other people that Damien had used magic on, and it was never a good sign for things to come.

Cana smirked. "Well, we should make him feel welcome then shouldn't we?" before Esther could protest, Cana grabbed one of her bottles, and walked in the direction of the new guy.

"Hey wait, Cana!" Esther called after her, but Cana just ignored her. Esther bit her lip. Maybe Cana had known that guy before; would his presence here be enough to break the spell? What would happen then? Esther's hand shook, but she stayed quiet. For all she knew, Cana had only briefly met this guy, and it wouldn't be enough to break the spell.

**Laxus POV **

Laxus frowned; annoyed at the eyes he could feel boring into the back of his head. Was it so hard to get a simple drink in this town? After defeating the bandits, Laxus had split off from Freed and Bixlow to search around the town. There wasn't really much to look at, since the place was so small, but eventually, he had made his way to Joe's bar, and decided to get a drink. Laxus had regretted his decision as soon as he stepped into the bar. Laxus was fine with people staring at him when he was beating the crap out of someone, but when he was out getting a drink? Not cool. Laxus scowled in annoyance, before taking a swig of his bottle. Just then, Laxus heard a voice call, "Hey wait, Cana!" Laxus looked up, and he almost dropped his glass.

A girl was walking towards him; she was wearing a blue tank top and blue jeans. She had long chestnut brown hair that flowed down halfway down her back. She had a blue bag hanging from her shoulders, resting on her hip, and two blue bracelets, resting on her biceps. But what struck Laxus most wasn't how pretty he thought she looked, but that she looked exactly like the girl from his recent dreams.

Laxus watched as she over to him, placing her hand on chair next to him, leaning slightly on it, holding a bottle of beer in her other hand. "Hey, mind if I join you?"

Laxus snapped himself out of his trance, and shrugged. "Be my guest." He said, waving to the chair.

The girl grinned with gratitude, before sitting down in the seat. She propped her elbows on the table, holding her head up with her right hand, studying him. "I haven't seen you around before, you new to town?"

Laxus nodded. "I'm in town for business." Laxus stated simply.

"Business? What kind of business would you come to a small town like this for?" the girl asked.

"You'd be surprised, I travel a lot." Laxus answered. Laxus was silent for a moment. "Have we met before?"

The girl blinked for a moment, then laughed. "Jeeze, if you're going for lame pickup lines I guess you take the cake."

"I didn't mean it like that." Laxus said nonchalantly, like it really didn't matter either way.

The girl rolled her eyes. "I'm just messing with ya'. Man you gotta lighten up a little!" the girl's face seemed serious again. "Seriously though, have we met before?"

Laxus raised an eyebrow. "Seems to me like we did."

Just then Laxus heard a voice. "Cana come on, it's getting late." He looked up to see a girl walking towards them. She had blond hair, braided to one side, a simple green v-neck and blue jeans held up by a white belt. She walked over to them, and stood by Cana. "You just got back, and you promised Damien that you wouldn't go out after 11."

The girl frowned at her friend. "Did I?" she waved her bottle in the air. "I must have been drunk." She looked back at Laxus. "This is my friend, Esther, Esther, this is," she frowned, then addressed Laxus. "Sorry, I don't think I got your name."

"It's Laxus." He said simply. "Laxus Dreyer."

The girl smirked. "Laxus," she said, enunciating every syllable. "I like it!"

Laxus glanced up at Esther. She was staring at him, with a mix of fear, and doubt. Laxus was used to people being scarred of him, but the way she looked at him just didn't feel right. He turned his attention back to the girl or Cana, as Esther had called her. She was acting exactly the opposite of her friend, talking to him like they had known each other forever. It put Laxus at ease, and he found it difficult to keep his scowl on his face.

"And you're Cana, correct?" he asked.

Cana nodded. "Ya, the name's Cana Alberona."

"Why'd you tell him that?" Esther asked. It was probably meant to be a hushed whisper, but Laxus heard it loud and clear.

Cana frowned at her. "Why shouldn't I? He told me."

Esther bit her lip, looking worried. "But Damien..."

Before she could continue, Cana waved her hand. "Relax Esther. Here, I'll go meet you outside in a moment ok? No more than ten minutes." Esther frowned, but nodded, and headed outside. Cana turned back to Laxus. "Sorry about that. Esther worries a lot, but she'll be fine." Laxus nodded. "So what business are you here for?" Cana asked.

Laxus took a swig of his drink. "I'm a mage; the mayor hired me and my friends to get rid of some bandits in the forest around your merry little town."

Cana frowned in confusion. "The mayor hired you?" her eyes turned speculating, as she put a finger to her lip thoughtfully. "That's strange,"

"Why's it so strange?" Laxus asked.

Cana looked at him. "Well, sure we have a bit of a bandit problem, but it's nothing really big, and we do have a few mages here that could have handled it. No offence, but I don't see why he hired you."

Laxus shrugged, taking a drink of his glass. "I'm getting paid, so I'm not complaining..."

Cana grinned. "Oh I'm not either. If he hadn't, I wouldn't have gotten to meet you."

Laxus sneered. "Now who's doing the cheesy pickup lines?"

Cana scowled at him. "That was not cheesy!"

"Sure it wasn't." Cana frowned. The two had a small stare down, before Cana burst out in a small fit of laughter.

"Man, looks like the alcohol had gotten to me!"Cana said, giggling. Laxus involuntarily smiled, her laughter made him feel warm, as if her laughter was the door to a little corner of paradise.

"Can't blame alcohol for everything." Laxus said.

Cana grinned. "Why not? It's worked for me up till now."

Laxus shook off the feeling of momentary nostalgia. "So you said there were other mages in this town. How many?"

Cana frowned for a moment thinking. "Just two, my boyfriend being one of them."

Laxus feigned a hurt look. "Boyfriend, man didn't need to hear that."

Cana grinned, "Aw, poor Laxus is a little late."

Laxus ignored the comment. "So who's the other?"

Cana grinned. "That'd be me. I'm a card mage."

Laxus frowned for a moment, remembering that the girl from his dreams was also a card mage. _"That can't be a coincidence." _ He thought. "Card mage huh? You any good?"

Cana grinned. "Well I don't like to brag, but I'm pretty skilled."

"You from a guild?" Laxus asked.

Cana laughed. "In a small town like this you think there'd be a guild? There are no guilds within miles of this place, so wouldn't be ideal. What about you?"

Laxus lay back in his chair, relaxing himself. "I'm a mage from Fairy Tail."

"Fairy tail. That's in Magnolia right?"

Laxus nodded. "Ever been?"

Cana shook her head. "I've been to Magnolia, but didn't go to Fairy tail, my boyfriend wanted to get back early."

"CANA COME ON!" Laxus looked up to see Esther at the door, a scowl on her face.

Cana waved at her, annoyed. "Just give me a sec!" Cana turned, rolling her eyes, before giving Laxus an apologetic smile. "Sorry, looks like I've reached my limit." Laxus nodded, watching her as she stood. "Hey, how long you in town?"

Laxus frowned. "As long as it takes for us to get rid the bandits, why?"

Cana grinned. "Come to Mrs. Goodworth's bakery tomorrow at three o'clock. I'll give you and your friends a tour of our small little town."

Laxus grinned. "Sounds good, I'll see you then." Cana grinned, waving at him as she walked out of the bar. Laxus watched her go, the image of her smile still clear in his mind. There was no doubt that she was the girl from his weird dreams, but she had said that she had never gone to fairy tail before. Laxus smiled to himself, already looking forward to seeing her again. Suddenly it hit him. She had also invited his friends. If the Thunder Legion found out about her, and his dreams, he would never hear the end of it.

**Esther POV**

Esther glared at Cana angrily as they walked, Cana smiling, ignoring her stare. "What was that?" Esther asked venomously.

Cana glanced at her. "What was what?" Cana asked.

"That!" Esther said. "With that guy back there!"

"Oh Laxus?" Cana asked again, looking totally innocent. "What about him?"

Esther looked like she was going to blow something. "You have a boyfriend, in case you have forgotten. A POSESSIVE boyfriend, who is not going to be HAPPY." Esther said, emphasizing possessive and happy.

Cana just waved her hand. "I just talked to him, no big deal. Damien's not going to go crazy or something."

"You don't know that!" Esther protested. "That guy seems strong, what happens if he and Damien fight?"

"It won't get to that. Laxus doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd get angry easily. Kind of like those stereotypical soldiers from England that don't move no matter what you do. I think Damien will be fine."

"_It's not Damien I'm worried about." _Esther thought, suppressing a shudder. "That guy is dangerous Cana; just keep your distance ok?"

Cana frowned. "Well that'll be hard, since I'm meeting him again tomorrow."

"YOU'RE WHAT?" Esther practically shrieked.

Cana winced at the loud noise. "Man Esther pipe down! It's not like I invited him to come with me down a dark alley in the middle of the night, all I did was offer to show him around town. Is that a problem?"

Esther clenched her hand, not saying anything, her feet planted firmly on the ground. Cana was saying this so easily, but she didn't even realise how terrible this would be, for everyone! She didn't realise what Damien could do, how detrimental it could be to get him angry! Esther took a deep breath, and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry Cana. I'm tired, and I think the alcohol's getting to me. I'll see you tomorrow ok?"

Cana watched her for a moment, but nodded. "Alright, sure, I'll see you tomorrow." Esther smiled, and waved, as the two parted ways.

Esther walked into her house, and found her father sitting at the table, drinking coffee, despite the late hour. "Dad, we need to talk."

The older man looked at her, before setting down his mug. "What's wrong Esther?"

"There's a new guy in town, his name is Laxus." She said simply. She hadn't moved from the entrance, though the door was shut firmly behind her.

Her father turned, to look at his newspaper. "I know, I hired him to come here."

Esther starred at him. "You what? Why?" she asked, aghast.

Ester then noticed how tightly her father held the paper, the slight tremor that was unmistakable. "I needed him to get rid of the bandits. I know they aren't a huge issue, but, I can't have what happened to that poor boy happen to any of them."

Esther bit her lip, the image flashing before her eyes. "He's from Cana's old guild isn't he?" she asked. Her father nodded slowly. "What if he causes the spell to break, worse, what if he's the one that Cana used to like? Have you even considered what will happen is Damien finds out?"

"I've thought of every possible scenario Esther." Said her father, a dangerous calm settling in his voice. "I've done my research on the man. He's extremely powerful, strong enough to beat one of the top ten holy mages. He made some bad choices before, and for all we know this could blow up in our faces, but I think we can trust him. It's just a gut feeling, but I feel we have no other choice." He looked at his daughter slowly, his intense gaze burning into her eyes. "I feel this boy might be able to save this town."

Esther said nothing, leaning against the door, as her father turned his attention back to the paper, his hands still shaking. This was a huge gamble; one Esther feared would not pan out. But there was nothing to do now. All Esther could do now was pray for the better.

**I'm not going to lie. I am REALLY not happy with this chapter. I had been building this chapter up in my head for days now, and as soon as I get to it, I get a major case of writers block. UGH! So I'm really sorry that it sucked so much, I'm just as mad as you are. I hope the next one will be better. Please review, but no flames, (even though I probably deserve some)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey! Hopefully this chapter will be better than the last. Hope you enjoy, please review! Don`t own fairy tail.**

**Freed POV**

"_JUST SHUT UP ALREADY OLD MAN!" Freed jolted himself awake, his head spinning. He, the thunder legion and Laxus' friend had heard from Mira that Laxus had gone to talk to his grandfather about something. It was obvious to everyone at the guild that something had been troubling Laxus recently. Laxus had never been one to smile, it just wasn't in his nature, and he usually settled with a cocky smirk, or a grin, but even those were becoming more and more infrequent, his angry scowls and his annoyed glares replacing them. The thunder legion had grown increasingly worried, and had tried to talk to him numerous times, but Laxus wasn't one to talk even on his good days. So as soon as they heard Laxus was going to his grandfather, all of them had gotten over to the guild as fast as possible. _

_It was late, the guild was practically empty, other than the thunder Legion, Laxus, the Master, and the little brunette girl, who was sitting on a stool, biting her lip nervously, drinking some beer out of a large mug. _

_Bixlow looked at Freed, a lunatic smile on his face, as usual. "You falling asleep on duty man?"Bixlow asked._

"_Asleep" _

"_On duty" his dolls chimed in._

_Freed scowled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Of course not, the leader of Laxus' elite guards never falls asleep on duty." _

_Bixlow opened his mouth to say something but shut it again. "If it were earlier in the day, I would take the effort to make a good comeback. As it is, I couldn't say anything better than a drunken parrot." Bixlow turned, as his dolls chimed in; in the background. "Hey kid, you wanna slow down on the beer?" the young girl looked up, her eyes burning. _

_She didn't look older than 14, yet she was still downing drinks like a pro. "Laxus is in the other room, talking to his grandfather, in the middle of the night, and it sounds like the mother of all thunderstorms is surrounding the guild hall." As if on cue, another crack of thunder filled the air, the glasses behind the counter clattering together. The girl took another drink. "I think I'll stick to my beer thanks."_

_A deep booming thunder echoed in the room, accompanied by more angry yelling. Bixlow was silent for a moment. "Mind if I have a glass?" the girl wordlessly went behind the counter, poured him a glass. All eyes were on the master's door, Evergreen shifting in her seat uncomfortably. Suddenly, the master's doors slammed open, causing everyone to jump out of their seats. Laxus came storming into the guild hall, his hands smoking from lighting, his face glared with murderous rage. He stalked past them not even looking at any of them, as he roughly sat down in a chair. _

"_I need a drink." Laxus growled. The young girl snapped to attention, quickly grabbing a cup, and filling it up, before running it over to Laxus. He took the cup from her roughly without so much as an appreciative nod of the head, before downing it in one gulp. When he finished, he chucked the glass mug at the wall, the shattering glass causing everyone to shiver. The thunder legion was silent. Freed met eye contact with Evergreen and Bixlow (though he wasn't totally sure about Bixlow, with his helmet and all.) and the three of them had a mental debate on who would talk. Eventually, Freed was voted out, the painful task being set on his shoulders. _

_Freed took a shaky breath before stepping forward. "Laxus?" he asked steadily. "What were you and the Master talking about?" _

_Laxus glanced up at him, his fists still clenched, before swiftly looking away. "Family issues."_

"_About?" Ever questioned. The group of them walked closer to Laxus, seating themselves around him. The brunette girl sat next to Laxus, her eyes trained on his face worriedly. _

_Laxus sighed. "An argument about my old man. I was trying to see if the old bat would let him come back." Freed nodded. He should have known that it was about Ivan Dreyer. Freed had never actually met the man. Apparently he was gone on missions a lot, his rank rivaling Gildarts, and had been kicked out of the guild when he was away on a mission. Freed didn't really know what exactly Ivan had done, but he assumed it was pretty bad for the master to kick his own son out. _

"_And I can guess what the answer was." Bixlow said. _

_Laxus nodded. "The old man is just so stubborn. What kind of man banishes his own son anyway?" Laxus was shaking with rage, he was struggling to get the words out. Freed couldn't stand to see him like this. Laxus was his idol, not to mention his best friend. Laxus was always strong; he never let his emotions get the best of him. _

_Then without warning, the girl beside him, wrapped her arms around the older boy, and gave him the quick peck on the cheek. Laxus froze, everyone else starring at her in shock. After a moment of silence, Laxus looked at her. "What the heck was that?" he asked._

_The girl just grinned. "You were letting your anger get the best of you, and it was bugging me. Just thought a little jolt would bring you back to reality."_

_Laxus just nodded silently, before turning away. He did look slightly calmer now, though Freed couldn't tell if he was actually calm, or still in shock. "Look man don't worry about it." Bixlow spoke up, his dolls moving to encircle Laxus. "Thinking about it will only put your head in knots; you gotta relax man, let out some steam."_

"_steam." His dolls agreed._

"_And what better way to do that then with a mission." Ever chirped._

"_Mission!" Bixlow's dolls bobbed up and down with excitement. _

_Freed smiled. "That's a good idea. While we're here, we'll pick a mission, then go in the morning. It'll help you get your mind of it." _

_Laxus looked at his friends, before sighing. "Suppose it couldn't hurt. Getting away from the guild for a few days does sound appealing." _

_Freed grinned. "Great," he turned to the young girl "you wanna go pick a mission?"_

_The girl was silent. Laxus looked at her. "What's up?" he asked. _

_The girl frowned, her eyes fixated on the ground. "Actually, I, um, I don't think that I'll be able to go on the mission with you guys." _

_All eyes turned to her. "Why not?" Ever asked._

_She bit her lip. "I, I actually took a mission for myself to do, and I'm leaving in the morning." The group was silent. _

"_You're taking a solo mission?" Freed asked._

"_But you always come with us!" Bixlow protested, his dolls nodding vigorously._

_The girl shuffled nervously. "I know, and I really enjoy going on missions with you guys, but..."_

"_But what?" Laxus asked. _

_The girl bit her lip. "I need to learn to do missions on my own. I can't keep piggybacking along with you guys all the time."_

"_I told you before it`s not a problem." Laxus said._

_Cana nodded. "I know, but I need to do this. How will I ever know if I'm a good mage if the only way I complete missions is because of you guys?"_

"_It`s not all us, you do a lot to!" Ever protested._

_The girl nodded. "I know, but." She breathed in deeply. "I-I need to do this." _

_Laxus was silent for a moment, the girl not looking up to meet his gaze. "Fine, do what you want." Laxus stood up abruptly, turning away from the girl. "Let's go pick a mission guys." He walked over to the mission board; Ever and Bixlow fallowing close behind. Freed was about to follow, when he stopped, and looked at the girl. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably, as she tried to hold back tears. Freed awkwardly put a hand on her head. "Good luck tomorrow kid." Before following after Laxus._

"FREED HURRY THE HECK UP WITH THOSE INCANTATIONS!" Freed snapped back to attention. He had been thinking about his dream from last night, in the middle of a battle.

Freed grabbed his blade, and scarcely had time to write a wind incantation to push away his opponent. "It's not as easy as it looks!" he called back, annoyed.

"Maybe if you weren't off in daydream land all the time, it would get done faster!" Evergreen called from above. Freed scowled.

"Just get it done!" Laxus called, as he punched the face in of a larger man. After a little while, the group soon defeated their opponents. Freed cast an incantation on all of them, sending them to the jail cells back in the town.

He got up and stretched. "Man, am I beat." He proclaimed. "Who would think that fighting a few bandits would be such a drain on magic?"

Ever scowled. "At least you didn't have to wash ketchup out of your hair yesterday! Do you know how long that took?"

"No longer than it takes you to put on your makeup." Bixlow commented, earning himself a slap in the head.

Freed ignored his comrades, and turned to Laxus. "Well, let's go grab something to eat, we missed lunch, and I'm starving."

Laxus nodded. "Alright, I'll meet you guys at the room later ok?"

The group looked at him surprised. "You're not coming with us?" Ever asked.

Laxus shook his head. "Err, sorry, but, I made, other plans."

"Other plans?" Bixlow questioned. "You wouldn't happen to be meeting a girl would you?"

None of them actually expected it to be trued, knowing that Bixlow was just fishing for ways to make fun of Laxus. But when Laxus didn't respond, Freed nervously asked. "Are you?"

Laxus scowled at him. "Look, I know what you're thinking and it's not like that."

Evergreen put a hand to her mouth, as she squealed with excitement. "Laxus is going to meet a girl! And I was worrying you had turned gay!" the boys all starred at her for a moment.

Laxus, forgetting Ever's comment, protested. "I just said, it's not like that! It's just some girl I met in town that offered to show us around town."

"Us?" Bixlow asked. "You said us."

Laxus immediately paled. "No I didn't."

"I heard it to, you said, she offered to show 'us' around town." Ever said, smirking.

"I did not say that!" Laxus protested.

"And how rude would it be if we did not show up, after the lady most graciously offered to show us around." Freed said, smirking.

Laxus growled at him. "I'm your leader, and I order you not to come."

"Laxus sama." Bixlow said, putting an arm around his shoulder. "We are your bodyguards, are we not? And sometimes keeping you 'safe' involves going against your words."

"Safe!" the dolls chimed.

"You can order us around in battle all you want." Ever said, smiling. "But when it comes to matters like this, there is nothing you can say to make us back down." Laxus just scowled at them, knowing that she was right.

Freed smiled, swinging his sword back in its scabbard. "Well, let's not keep the good lady waiting. Shall we?"

The group of them walked along through the forest, making their way back to town. Bixlow and Evergreen made fun of Laxus for the first part, but after Laxus threatened to give Ever bad hair days for the rest of her life, and to electrocute Bixlow's tongue, they quickly shut up. They arrived at Mrs. Goodworth's bakery about ten after 3, Freed walking in first. Eyes shot up when they entered the bakery, but Freed simply labelled that to this being a small town. When the onlookers eyes eventually looked away, Freed noticed that one pair of eye didn't leave them.

Freed turned towards them, and had to take a step back to keep himself from falling. The girl was a brunette, she looked about 18 maybe. She was wearing baggy blue jeans, along with what looked like a blue bikini top, underneath an unzipped orange jacket. The girl was defiantly beautiful, no doubt about that, but it wasn't exactly the kind of beautiful that Freed went for. She wasn't like Mira Jane, a sweet almost innocent beauty, the kind of girl you'd expect to snuggle puppies. This girl looked more, out there, I guess you could say. She had the kind of look of a girl that would be like- 'look all you want, but you aren't getting within 100 meters of this'- Freed expected her to pet a puppy, then turn it into some kind of killer guard dog. But what struck him most was that she looked almost identical to the girl in his dream, they could have been sisters.

The leaned in and whispered in Laxus' ear. "She's just your type." Laxus shoved him off.

The girl caught Laxus' eye, and grinned, standing up, and walking towards them. "Hey Laxus! I was worried you weren't coming."

Laxus rolled his eyes. "I almost didn't."

"Now Laxus," Freed interjected. "That's not something you say to a beautiful lady." He smiled charmingly at the girl. "I'm Freed, this is Evergreen, and Bixlow." He said, waving a hand towards his companions. "I didn't catch your name."

"That's because I didn't give it." She said, though Freed could tell her attention wasn't fully on him, as she was facing Laxus, though her eyes were shifted to Freed. "Name's Cana and I'm going to be your tour guide on this fine evening."

"It would be our honour." Freed said.

Cana grinned, raising an eyebrow at Laxus. "You forgot to mention your friends were so polite. Why haven't they rubbed off on you yet?" Laxus just rolled his eyes.

"I love your sweater." Evergreen added. Freed turned to her, and had to stop his mouth from falling open. Evergreen almost never complimented someone else, unless it had something to do with herself. But looking at evergreen, he noticed the way she was studying the girl, as if she was familiar.

The girl didn't seem to notice, as she turned and smiled at her. "Thanks got it a long time ago."

Suddenly, a memory flashed in front of Freed's mind.

"_Aw man Laxus, what are you going to do with it now?" Freed asked. Laxus frowned, studying the orange jacket. He had worn the thing his whole life, it had belonged to his father, but now he had outgrown it. _

"_Don't know, I'll probably just throw it out."_

"_What! You can't do that; it's a good quality sweater!" Freed protested._

_Laxus frowned at him. "Then what do you think I should do with it?"_

"_Why don't you give it to that girl you always hang out with?" Bixlow asked. _

_Laxus raised an eyebrow. "It'll be too big for her, don't you think?"_

"_Yeah, but you could give it to Evergreen and she could sow it up to fit her better." Bixlow said. "You know she loves working with fashion."_

_Laxus considered it, lazily studying the sweater. "Sure why not, her birthday is coming up soon anyway." _

Freed snapped himself back to reality. "Hey Laxus, didn't you used to have a sweater like that?"

Laxus frowned. "When I was younger I think. Don't remember what happened to it though."

Freed frowned at that. Cana turned to them with a smile. "Well, where do you guys want to start?"

Laxus shrugged. "Whatever works with you I guess."

Cana smirked. "I'd be careful with whose hand you put your trust in." She smiled again, addressing all of them. "Follow me, through a magialc journey of our small little town.

**Damien POV **

Damien walked down the street, his head held high, his arms swaying by his sides. Normally, he would be in a bad mood today. He had spilled coffee on his favourite shirt, his morning shower had been anything but peaceful, and to top it all off he couldn't find the magical potion that he had bought last week. But Damien still couldn't keep the smile off his face. Cana had come back, and after that, his whole house could have been burned down and it wouldn't have mattered.

Damien had missed Cana so much after she had- he refused to use the word 'left'- gone missing from the town. Even when he was writing notes, it wasn't the same. Even just in her words, he could tell she was changing, and he didn't like it. That, 'place' was trying to take her away from him, and Damien knew he had to save her.

Then a little voice in his head started telling him that she had gone on her own accord. Damien quickly snuffed out the thought like a fire. Cana had not gone on her own accord. She hadn't been thinking straight. If she had, she would have never left.

"_Cana?" Damien asked. He had heard Esther and Cana fighting in the other room, and had gotten out of bed to see what was going on. To his surprise, he found Cana, dressed snuggly in a jacket, boots and pants, holding a suitcase with her belongings behind her. He starred at her. "What's going on?"_

_Cana was silent for a moment. So was Esther, starring between the two. Then, Cana seemed to steel her own nerves, as she turned towards Damien, and straightened. "I'm leavening." _

_Damien just stood there frozen. "Why?" he asked. _

_Cana's fist clenched. "I have to Damien. If I don't the one who killed my mother will come. I can't stay here."_

"_You don't have to be afraid of him; I told you I'd protect you." Damien insisted. _

"_You aren't strong enough!" Cana snapped. "He`s a mage, and you`re not. You can`t even use magic, what hope would you have against him?"Cana just stared at him, before shifting her jacket on her shoulder. "I`m leaving. I'm going to the guild my dad is at. I'm going to become a mage."_

"_You`re going to a guild?" Damien asked, shocked. "But why, this is your home?"_

"_This Is Not MY Home!" Cana practically screamed. It was a good thing Esther's parents were heavy sleepers. "My home is with my mom, my family, and that's gone. My mother said it was her will that I go to where my father is, and I'm trusting her judgment."_

"_But we are your family!" Damien insisted. "Me, and Esther, Mr. Trench, Mrs. Goodworth, all of us!" _

_Cana bit her lip, she was trying hard not to cry. "I care about everyone; they are all special to me. But the only thing this place holds for me is the past. Fairy Tail is my future." With that, Cana grabbed her small suitcase, and walked past Damien, not even looking at him, not even gracing him with a goodbye. Damien didn`t turn to watch her go._

Damien shook his head at the memory. Cana had been scarred then, not thinking straight, not thinking about what was important. And in her weakness, that `guild` had infected her, like a disease, turning her against her real family. But no more, Cana was with him now, she was safe. He had put so much thought into every little detail of the spell, working extra hard for the smallest bits of her memory. It hadn`t been too hard, he had been imagining her with him every day of his life.

He hadn`t even bothered doing a spell on the townsfolk. They would all be overjoyed to have Cana back in their lives and away from that place. And for those who weren`t, well, it's not like there were going to do anything against him anyway. And for Fairy tail? He had barely even thought about it, not putting anything more than one lair of the spell on them. If they remembered Cana and missed her, he didn`t care if they spent the rest of their lives searching for her. It wasn`t like they were ever going to find her. It serves them right for taking his Cana away from him.

And now everything would be ok. It wouldn`t take him long to heal Cana from her sickness of Fairy tail, and for her to return to the way she was. Everything would be back to normal, just like things used to be.

He walked over to Mrs. Goodworth`s bakery. He hadn`t seen Cana today, but had heard from someone that Cana had made plans to go there around 3 o'clock. He walked in and took a seat at the counter. Merely 5 minutes after he sat down, Cana walked in. She looked absolutely gorgeous, as usual. She hadn`t seen him, as she went to sit down at a table near the back. He watched her, as she lay back in the chair, resting her eyes. He loved the way her hair slightly covered her face, brushing gently against it as she rested.

Then the door to the store opened, and Damien turned towards the sound. Upon seeing who was there, his whole body tensed with rage. There, following in after a man with long, oddly green hair, was him. Laxus, the worst of them all. Damien clenched his fist. That man had been the most prominent image in Cana`s message, the one who twisted her more than anyone else. He had infected her so much, that she actually believed that she liked him! Him! As if Cana would ever like someone like that! Then, Cana got up, and walked towards them. Damien struggled to keep a cool head, as she talked to the group, consisting of `that man` the one with the green hair, another man with a strange helmet, and a girl, waving a fan in front of her face.

He had utter confidence that his spell wouldn`t break. There was no way that they could have possibly remembered each other. By the way they acted, it was clear that they didn`t realize there connection yet, but he did see something strange, in the way all of them looked at her. Damien watched, as they turned to leave, Cana following close- to close- behind Laxus. As soon as the group left, the glass cup in Damien`s hand shattered.

**Hey! I know this chapter is really long, so I`m really sorry for that. We`re starting to see in this chapter, how Laxus and Cana, `broke up` in a sense, and got to the point that they were during Laxus` attack on Fairy Tail, and are going to go further into that later. Also, we`re going to go a bit deeper into Damien`s story, and start to discover why everyone is so afraid of him. Well so far, what do you think? Did you like it? Please review! And when I was editing this I had a bad headache, so there might be some grammar errors. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! I know it's been a while since I wrote, sorry about that. Hope you enjoy it, and review please!**

**I don`t own fairy tail, I`m not that cool L**

**Cana POV**

Cana held her head high, the wind blowing through her hair, a large grin illuminating her face. She walked beside Laxus, followed by the other three mages. Cana liked them for the most part. Freed was defiantly receiving high marks in the charming category. Evergreen seemed a bit on the snobby side, always flashing a vain grin, but she didn`t seem too bad. Plus, Cana really liked her hair, so she couldn`t be too bad right? Bixlow did kind of creep her out a bit, but he had a crazy smile, which always meant fun, especially when Cana got him drunk. Though Cana really wanted to know what the point to his helmet was, and why he looked like he was cos-playing. Through their walk, Cana stuck to Laxus' side, chatting happily with him. Cana couldn't explain it, but she felt at ease next to him, as if it was a relief to have him near her, and not trying to kill her. Though Cana had no clue why he would WANT to kill her to begin with.

"Man are you serious?" Cana laughed. "That's hilarious!"

Laxus smirked. "You think that's funny, you should hear the story of how Bixlow almost got his tongue cut off."

Cana laughed gaily. "You'll have to tell me that story over a drink sometime." Momentarily looking up, she gestured towards a small building. "Aw, this is Mr. Trench's magic shop. It's a limited supply, mostly just stuff to use around the house, but there are a few things for full time mages. They have a good stock of magic cards."

"You get your cards here?" Laxus asked.

Cana nodded. "I've known Mr. Trench as long as I can remember; he used to bring me to the park whenever my mother was out of town. If you decide you want anything, I could get you a discount." Just then, the little bell rang at the shop. Cana looked up to see Esther coming out of the store, holding a bag of items she had just purchased. That puzzled Cana; Esther had never been a fan of magic, preferring to do most of her work by hand. "Hey Esther!"

Esther looked up at her voice. At first Cana saw a glimmer of relief in her eyes, but then she saw Laxus and the other members from his guild, and her eyes hardened again, and her jaw set. "Cana." She said, refusing to address the others.

Cana grinned, ignoring her hostility, and walked over to her, the others following. "Hey Esther, what's up? I was just bringing Laxus and these guys on a quick tour."

Esther nodded, not saying anything. "That's nice."

Cana frowned, but spoke up again. "This is Freed, Evergreen, and Bixlow. Your dad hired them to help get rid of the bandits around the town."

Esther just nodded again. "Uh huh. Have you talked to Damien today? Your BOYFRIEND?" she emphasized the last word.

Cana rolled her eyes. Not this again. "No, I haven't. I don't need to tell Damien where I'm going 24/7."

Behind her, she heard Bixlow whisper in Laxus' ear. "Going after a girl already taken? Aren't you a bad boy." Cana pretended not to hear that, as Laxus elbowed him in the side.

Freed stepped forward, smiling broadly. "Pleased to meet your acquaintance milady. I'm ashamed to say we didn't get the chance to meet when he first met your father." Freed reached forward to take her hand, but she sidestepped away from him, glaring daggers at him.

Cana hit his hand away. "I'd be careful Freed, I'm sure your girlfriend won't like to hear about your mindless flirting."

Freed widened his eyes. "How did you know about my girlfriend?"

Cana wasn't actually sure how she knew. She pointed at Laxus. "He told me, weren't you listening this whole walk?" Laxus nodded, but looked puzzled, trying to remember if he actually did tell her.

Freed snorted, his face blushing slightly. "I-I wasn't flirting, it's called being a gentleman."

Cana laughed. "Right, I didn't see you act that way when I introduced you to Mr. Rodgers back there."

Freed's face remained red, while Bixlow laughed, and slapped him on the back. "She's got you there man!"

Cana grinned, turning to Esther again. "Want to join us? We still have almost 3 quarters of the town left to go through."

"That much?" Evergreen interrupted, her face pouted. "I thought this was a small town! I can't walk that far in these heels."

Cana turned her head slightly towards her. "We're pretty close to my place now. If you want we could stop there and you could borrow some shoes." Evergreen huffed, but nodded begrudgingly.

Esther's face remained tense. "No thanks. I'm busy."

Evergreen pouted. "Aw but you have to come! I can't have these boys outnumber us! And I'll need your advice about what clothes I should wear!" Esther didn't ever acknowledge her comment. She just walked past them, offering a quick goodbye to Cana, then walked off, not even looked any of them in the eye.

Ever nodded. "Well, and I thought Laxus was rude."

Laxus just glared at her. Cana sighed, putting a hand to her face. "I'm sorry guys. I honestly don't know what's bugging her. Usually, she's one of the nicest people I know, I don't know why she's acting like this."

"It's no problem." Freed said smiling. "Perhaps she's just feeling a little under the weather." Cana nodded, in agreement, but her eyes remained fixed on the path Esther had taken.

Laxus put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Hey don't worry about it. I'm sure Freed's right, it's probably nothing."

Cana nodded, not wanting to let on how nice it felt to have Laxus' hand on her shoulder. She had to restrain the urge to lean her head on his shoulder, before she turned forward again. "Well, let's head to my house. We can grab a drink while we're there." The group of them walked on, chatting happily. Cana loved talking to these guys, it felt so easy, despite the fact that they had just met. She felt like she could trust any one of them with her life.

"We're here!" she finally announced. "Welcome to the Alberona's residence!" Cana waved her hand dramatically gesturing to her house.

Bixlow whistled. "Nice place! You here alone?"

Cana nodded. "My mother bought the land long ago, so I get the place pretty cheap." Cana lead the way inside. She gestured to the sitting room. "You guys can sit down, while I grab a drink. You guys want anything?"

"Just some water for me. I have to be careful drinking alcohol; I've had too many hangovers recently." Bixlow nodded, grimacing at the memory.

"I'll have some Vanilla nutmeg tea if you have it." Ever said.

Cana nodded. "Laxus?"

Laxus looked up. "I'll take a beer. Want some help with those?"

Cana grinned. "That'd be great, thanks." Cana turned towards the kitchen, hearing Freed whisper something about, getting the girl, before she heard Laxus hit him on the head. The two of them walked into the kitchen, which was mostly in view of the sitting room anyway. "The beer's in the fridge. Grab me on two thanks." Laxus nodded, turning to open the fridge.

Suddenly, Laxus heard Cana yelp. He turned his head to her. "What happened?"

Cana grimaced, holding her right hand with her left, her face grimacing. "Got some hot water on my hand, no bigy."

Laxus frowned. He put the two beers down on the counter, and reached into her freezer to grab an ice pack. He walked over to her. "Here, you might want to put this on." Laxus reached forward, and grabbed her hand. As soon as their skin touched, Cana felt a pang go up her arm, like it had been struck with a metal rod. She blinked. "What was that?" she asked, but she could hardly concentrate, as a memory flashed before her eyes.

_Cana heard a slam, and turned towards the front of the guild hall. Laxus walked into the guild hall, his face looking grim. He had just come back from a three week long mission. Cana didn't know the details, but Ever told her it had something to do with infiltrating a dark guild or something. Laxus' eyes scanned the room, resting on Cana briefly, before snapping away from her. Cana pouted, and turned back to her cards that she had spread out on the table, acting like she didn't see him. _

_Cana and Laxus weren't exactly on the best speaking terms right now, ever since a few months ago, when Cana had decided to try some solo missions. Cana wasn't even sure what was wrong with that, she wanted to do something for herself, what's the harm in that? Laxus hardly even acknowledged her anymore, other than the brief glare here and there. Cana wished he would just come out and scream at her, rather then hiding behind a sour face. _

_"Hey Cana!" Cana heard a voice, and looked up to see Ever walking towards her. _

_Cana grinned lifting up her glass to greet her. "Hey Ever! How'd the mission go?" _

_Ever huffed. "Spectacular of course, you even have to ask?"_

_Cana laughed. "My mistake. So what happened anyway? You didn't give me much info before you left." Just then, Laxus passed by Cana. She didn't even have to look up to tell it was him. Cana glanced up briefly once he had past, and noticed him walking towards the master's office. _

_"Why don't you ask Laxus?" Ever asked. "I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you."_

_Cana glanced at her friend, before taking another drink. "In case you haven't noticed Ever, me and Laxus aren't exactly on good speaking terms."_

_Ever frowned, then sighed, putting her head in her hand. "I don't understand why you guys are fighting. The missions are so boring when Laxus is in a bad mood." _

_Cana ignored her, glancing again at the master's doors. "Why's Laxus going to talk to the master?"_

_Ever made a face, following her gaze. "Apparently he found out something about his father when on the mission." Cana bit her lip, knowing that meant trouble. Just then, the guild shook a blast of lightening shot out of the master's office. Everyone in the guild turned to look. _

_Master walked out, followed by Laxus. "There's no reason to get angry boy. Rules are rules."_

_Laxus' fist shook. "Forget the rule old bat; he's your son for crying out loud! And he's the master of his own dark guild, don't you even care!?" Cana winced, knowing she really shouldn't be listening to this, despite the fact that she really didn't have a choice. _

_Master looked unperturbed, but Cana knew better. Master had a better poker face than anyone she had ever met, she knew because the man had taught her how to play poker soon after she first joined the guild. Master had become a sort of father figure in her life, since her own father didn't realize of her existence. It was slightly closer to grandfather figure, but Cana preferred father. Cana knew that he was truly worried about both his son, and grandson, but his placement as guild master held him back from making any actions. "If that is the course Ivan has taken, there is nothing that I can do about that."_

_Laxus' eyes burned with anger. "Is that all you have to say!? What happened to never letting someone fall to darkness? Do those words mean nothing?"_

_Master didn't answer him. He walked past Laxus, and sat atop of the bar counter. He turned to Mira, who stood diagonally next to him, across the counter. (If that makes sense) "Mira, mind grabbing me a drink?"_

_Mira nodded, slightly nervous. "Yes master."_

_Cana saw something in Laxus' brain snap. He held out his hand towards his grandfather, and a bolt of lightning flew towards him. Master easily avoided it, but it smashed into the wall behind him, causing the glasses to fall the ground and shatter. Mira ducked her head to avoid the shards. "Listen to me you piece of trash!" Laxus shouted. _

_That did it, Cana stood up, despite Ever's pleas to look the other way. She stormed towards them, and placed herself in between Laxus and the master. "WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Cana screamed. _

_Laxus glared at her, but he lowered her hand. "Get out of the way, this has nothing to do with you."_

_Cana glared daggers at him. "Not my problem? Laxus you could have killed Mira!" _

_Laxus grunted. "That's not my problem."_

_Cana's eyes widened in disbelief. "Not your problem? She's your guild member of course it's your problem! Your father isn't the only person that matters!"_

_Laxus scowled. "At least I care about my father, unlike him!" he said, pointing at his grandfather, who managed to keep a straight face. _

_"Are you stupid? Of course your grandfather cares! Are you blind, can't you see what's right in front of you!?"_

_"Look who's talking!" Laxus spat, on instinct._

_"What's that supposed to mean!?" Cana asked angrily. Laxus clenched his teeth to keep himself from saying anything stupid. "If you care so much more about your dad then you do your own guild members, why don't you go join his guild?"_

_"Well maybe I will!" Laxus shouted back_

_"Good! You'll make a great dark mage; you've never been one to fight on the good side anyway!"_

_Laxus growled, his body was sparking. He turned abruptly. "Freed, Ever, Bixlow, let's go." He stormed out of the guild hall, his friends scrambling to follow him. Each of them had an uneasy expression on their faces, Evergreen turning, to mouth an apology before walking out the doors. _

_The guild hall was silent, all eyes were on Cana. She was breathing heavily, her feet planted on the spot. _

_"You didn't need to do that Cana." Erza said gently, noticing Cana's hand shake. _

_"He shouldn't act so heartless." Cana said back, her eyes glued on the guild doors. _

_Master spoke gently. "The boy is simply upset, as he has the right to be. He'll be back to normal before you know it." _

_Cana didn't say anything, doubting Makrov's words. She drew a shaky breath, forcing herself to relax. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have said those things."_

_Master smiled up at her. "Nothing to apologize for happens to the best of us. Want to relax with a drink?" _

_Cana smiled, feeling exhausted. "Sounds good. I better help Mira though first."_

Cana's eyes snapped to attention, her eyes fixing on Laxus. "d-did you see that?" she asked softly.

Laxus was silent. He opened his mouth to speak, but just as he did, Bixlow started singing loudly. "CAUSE EVERYTIME WE TOUCH I GET THIS FEELING!"

Evergreen grinned, as she joined in. "AND EVERYTIME WE KISS I SWEAR I COULD FLY!"

"CAN'T YOU FEEL MY HEART BEAT FAST, I WANT THIS TO LAST!" Bixlow sang again, Freed sat beside him, barely able to contain his laughter.

"NEED YOU BY MY SIDE!" Evergreen finished, falling back in her chair.

"Would you shut up!?" Laxus yelled at them. He roughly handed Cana the ice pack, before grabbing his beer, and one of the glasses of water Cana had prepared. He stalked over to Bixlow, and poured the contents onto his head. Bixlow protested, but his dolls were still bouncing around, singing different lyrics of 'Every time we touch' by Cascada.

Cana smiled, their merriment putting her at ease, as she turned back towards the tea she was preparing. She struggled to stop her hands from shaking. She remembered her mother explaining to her different aspects to spells. She once told her that if two different ends of a spell came in contact, a magic zing would pass between the two. It was a built in safety measure made by the original creatures of different spells, so they could identify if a spell had been cast on them. But Cana wasn't under any spell; everything was the same it had always been. Cana glanced back toward Laxus, only to find him looking at her in turn. Both of them retreated their gaze. Cana wasn't under any spell, was she?

**Esther POV **

Esther walked along the streets, her eyes glued to the ground, as she hurried towards her house. Suddenly, Esther bumped into someone, causing her to stumble back slightly. She looked up, and almost dropped the bag she was holding. Damien stood in front of her, a grim expression on his face.

As soon as he noticed Esther, his expression lightened slightly. "Hey Esther! Where are you going in such a hurry?"

Esther took a moment to respond, her own hands shaking. "I-I was j-just grabbing some stuff for my father at the store."

Damien raised an eyebrow. "There's no reason to be nervous Esther, it's only me." Damien flashed an easy grin.

As much as it shamed her, Esther felt herself ease at the sight of his smile. She knew that it was stupid, to like someone like him. She knew everything he had done, she knew his true nature, and yet, every time he smiled at her, her insides turned to jelly. "_You can't choose who you love I guess." _She said, sighing under her breath. "I'm sorry; I'm just a bit cold."

Damien frowned, looking concerned. "Want to borrow my coat?"

Esther quickly shook her head, trying to hide the slight blush she felt. "No thanks Damien, I'm alright."

Damien grinned at her again. Then his gaze became distant, turning his head to the right. "I noticed we had some new people in town."

Esther sucked in a breath. "o-oh really?" she asked, acting innocent.

Damien nodded, still not looking at her. "I saw Cana with them earlier."

Esther felt a bead of sweat run down the side of her face. "o-oh yeah, Cana ran into one of them at the bar last night, and offered to show them around town, I had totally forgotten about it."

Damien was silent for a moment to long, Esther gripping her bag tightly. "Any idea why they're in town?"

Esther quickly shook her head. Too fast. "No idea, didn't ask."

Damien frowned, looking at her, the darkness Esther saw in his eyes scarring her. "You sure you don't know." Esther gulped, but nodded quickly. Damien took a step closer to her, and she felt her heart race. "You're sure?" he asked again.

Esther bit her lip, fearing that if she said anything, she didn`t know what Damien would do to her father if he found out that he had requested their presence. She laughed, trying to make it sound effortless. "What's that supposed to mean? Of course I'm sure." Damien was silent for a moment, as Esther held her breath.

Then he sighed, defeated, and placed a hand on her head. "I'm sorry Esther, I'm acting stupid." He smiled again. "You've never lied to me before, why would you start now?" Esther immediately felt an irrational pang of guilt, but quickly shooed it away. He turned, and started walking away. "Talk to you later Esther!" Esther raised a hand, and waved after him, not moving as he walked away.

_Esther followed Damien through the forest. She had no clue why he was walking around here, so late in night. It had been somewhere between 1-2 years since Cana had left them. Esther had gotten over it, knowing that she had meant no ill will. But Damien still hadn't recovered, Esther seeing the sadness in his eyes every now and then. _

_She hid behind a tree, hoping that Damien would not spot her. To her surprise, she saw him walk up to a man. He must have realized he was coming, and came out to meet him. Esther froze when she saw him, recognizing him immediately. _

_"And who are you boy?" the man asked, his voice dark. _

_Damien looked up at him. "It was you. You were the one who killed Cana's mother weren't you?"_

_The man smirked slightly. "And what are you going to do about it boy? Take revenge for your little girlfriend?"_

_To Esther's shock, Damien shook his head. "No, I have a better plan then that." He looked up at the man, starring him hard in the eyes, with ferocity a child shouldn't have. "I want you to train me." _

**Sorry this one took so long. I've been depressed, since I have so little time till school starts. (,-.-,) tear- anyway, I hoped you liked this chapter; I'll post the next one A.S.A.P. also, Freed`s girlfriend is Mira-jane. i like their couple, and will probally write them a short story soon. also, I`m sorry the end was a bit rushed, please forgive, and Please Review! :) **


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone! I know it`s been SSSOOO long since I've updated this story! I've been really caught up in school work, so I haven't gotten the chance. I'll try not to let too much time pass between updates again! Hope you like it, Review!**

**I don't own Fairy Tail, if I did, there would be some couple thing between Zeref and Mavis. (Seriously that'd be SO CUTE! :D **

**Bixlow POV**

Bixlow walked down the streets, his dolls bobbing up and down around his head. It was a few hours after lunch; they had finished today's attack pretty quickly. Laxus had went with Cana to lunch, (after a lot of nagging from Bixlow and Freed,) Ever had went to the jewelry store that Cana had showed them the day before, and Freed was on the phone with his girlfriend. Since they were doing the whole –you hand up, no you hang up- thing, Bixlow guessed he wouldn't be done for a while. So Bixlow had decided to check out some of the places Cana had shown them the day before.

"So where do you want to go my babies?" Bixlow drawled his tongue hanging out of his mouth like a dog.

"Food!" one of them chirped.

"Movies!" another called.

"Jail!" another quipped. All of them went silent after that one. Bixlow knew that the dolls often reflected his own thoughts. They must have caught on to that thing that happened at the mission that was bugging him.

_Bixlow had cornered one of the bandits at the end of a cave. "Well, now, you ready to stop running?"_

_"To jail with you!" one of his dolls said, the others cheering along._

_Suddenly the bandit stopped shaking. He blinked twice. "Jail?" he asked, almost disbelieving. Suddenly he fell on his knees. "Oh thank heavens! I thought He had sent you!" he held out his hands, as if ready to be cuffed. "Please, please take me there."_

_Bixlow was taken aback. That was not the reaction he was expecting at all. "You're awfully cheery to be going to jail." All the dolls tilted their head to the side, mimicking his confusion. _

_The bandit laughed. "Of course! The Jail is the only safe place from him!" _

_Bixlow made a face. "From him? Do you mean the mayor?" _

_The bandit laughed. "The mayor! He has no power here! No one does! No one but him!"_

_"But who's..."_

_"Bixlow!" Bixlow turned to see his friends all running in. "you caught the last one." Freed said. Just then the bandit started laughing loudly, a mix between madness and relief._

_"What's with him?" Ever asked, making a disgusted face. _

_Bixlow shrugged. "Must have been something he ate." Freed shook his head annoyed, before stepping towards the man. _

_Laxus studied Bixlow's face. "Something bugging you?"_

_Bixlow quickly realized that there was a frown on his face. He turned to Laxus, showing his trademark grin. "Why Laxus! I'm surprised you still have time for your friends, considering the only person on your mind is Cana!"Laxus punched him. _

Bixlow was silent, (an unusual sight) as he walked along, his mind in deep concentration. He had been on a lot of missions, caught a lot of bad guys, but no one had ever begged him to bring them to jail. It wasn't just that, the bandits that they fought seemed, strange. The Mayor didn't have a single record of anything they had stolen. And it wasn't just them, the town as well. The way they acted, the way all of them glanced behind them, as if to check if someone was watching them. Even the children, there were no kids out playing games in the streets, not even any crying kids. The only person who didn't act like someone out of a horror movie was Cana. Even her though, all of the towns folk watched her, as if she had some kind of ticking time bomb, that she knew nothing about.

Bixlow shook his head, trying to shake away the thoughts. No point thinking about it, it'll ruin his fun. How was he supposed to make fun of Laxus like this? Even so that was hard. Bixlow like Cana, she seemed like a lot of fun, Laxus sure could pick them well. Also, he had this unexplained urge to protect her. He saw her as a little sister almost, despite the fact that they had just met.

Just then, Bixlow looked up, and noticed everyone around him had stopped. They all were watching something. He followed their gaze, and noticed Cana standing next to a fountain, her arms crossed over her chest, facing a guy about a head taller than her. It looked like they were having an argument, by their expressions.

Cana huffed, glaring at the boy. "I don't see what the big deal is Damien." Bixlow recognized the name, as Cana's boyfriend she had told them about.

Damien huffed, his fists clenched. "Well what do you think the problem is? I just found out my girlfriend is off meeting with another guy behind my back!"

He must have meant Laxus. "_This can't be good."_ Bixlow thought, his dolls bobbing slightly, slower than usual.

Cana waved her hand in exasperation. "I keep telling you it's not like that! He's just a friend, that's it! Are you saying I can't see my friends anymore?"

"I'm not saying that, you can see Esther all you want, just not any guys." Cana glared at him. "Besides, you just met him; he's not your friend, for all you know he's some psychopath!"

"He's not a psychopath you idiot! Esther's dad wouldn't hire a psychopath to come get rid of the town bandits would he?"

Suddenly Damien froze for a second. He blinked twice. "Esther's dad?"

Cana huffed, annoyed. "Yes, Esther's dad, our Mayor." Cana said, emphasizing the last word.

Damien was silent again. "Did, Esther know about this?"

Cana threw her arms up in the air. "How the heck should I know? Besides, even if she does, that just proves my point even more, Esther would never let someone she didn't trust come to town!" Bixlow noted that Cana forgot to mention her strange attitude the day before.

Damien snapped back to attention. "Doesn't matter, you still can't go off with some other guy!"

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Cana said her voice elevating.

"I`m your BOYFRIEND." Damien snapped.

"Doesn't mean you get the right to control me!" Cana yelled back. She took a deep breath trying to settle her nerves. "Whatever, I`m going home Damien. I`ll see you later."

As Cana turned to leave, Damien caught her arm. "You aren`t going anywhere." Just then, a chill fell down everyone's backs. The townsfolk started walking away, a slight tremor in their steps.

"Let go of me." Cana snapped, but Bixlow could hear the nervousness in her voice.

"You are not going to see him, or any of the others who came with him, again, do you understand me?" he spoke in a commanding voice, running thick with magic. Bixlow remembered that Cana had told them that Damien was a bit of a magician, but the magic that Bixlow felt didn`t seem like something someone did for a pastime.

Although, Cana being a magician herself, wasn`t frightened by it. "And what are you going to do if I don`t?" Cana asked, faking bravery.

Bixlow could feel the air pressure drop, as Damien`s eyes narrowed. Bixlow figured it was about time to step in. "Hey Cana!" He jumped forward, putting a hand on Cana`s shoulder, surprising Damien enough for Cana to snap her arm back. He grinned down at her. "I`ve been looking everywhere for you! I wanted to find that Halloween store you told me about so I could pull a prank on Freed."

Damien eyed him slowly, as if Bixlow was not who he expected to see. Cana looked up at him, her face still a bit tense, but a smile graced her features. "Bixlow hey. Sure, I`ll show you there now." Cana turned and walked away, leaving a brooding Damien behind. As soon as they were out of ear shot, Cana sighed with relief. "Thanks for that Bixlow, I owe you one."

Bixlow threw her a crazy grin. "I`ll except your payment in beer thank you." Cana laughed. Bixlow felt a bit awkward, but felt that he should say something about what just happened. "Your boyfriend seems... nice."

Cana groaned, looking at him. "How much did you see?"

"Not much." Bixlow lied.

"Most of it." His doll chirped.

"Entire thing!" another one added.

Cana groaned, placing her head in her hands. "Ugh, that guy can be so embarrassing at times."

"Is he always like that?" Bixlow asked.

Cana shrugged. "I guess he`s always been a bit, over protective, or possessive could be a better term."

"Na ah sister." Bixlow interrupted. "Over protective means he would have gone and fought Laxus, possessive means he growls when other guys look at his girl. Trying to order your girlfriend around is just plain creepy, and trust me, I`m from a very strange guild, and I see a lot of strange people walk through the door on a daily bases. They`re weird, he`s creepy, there`s a difference."

Cana laughed, then she sighed. "yeah, I guess he can be a bit creepy."

"If you don`t mind me asking, why are you dating someone like him?" Bixlow asked, not at all trying to help out Laxus.

Cana was silent for a moment. Bixlow decided that he had gotten on a touchy subject. "Even the guys at my guild know better than to order a girl around. Especially when it`s Erza, try anything on her and you`ll end up hiding under your bed for the next 7 years."

Cana smiled, her body starting to relax. "Your guild sounds fun. Laxus was telling me about it earlier; it's too bad I missed it when I was in Magnolia."

"You should come visit some time! I`m sure you`d love it there!" Bixlow thought for a moment. "Maybe after the mission we could show you around!"

Cana looked at him, her eyes brightening. "Really? You mean it?"

"Of course, you`d owe me a lot of beer at that point."

Cana grinned. "I`ve never been to a guild before, I`d love to go! When are you guys leaving?"

"As soon we finish our mission." Bixlow responded.

Cana grinned. "If you guys let me go, I`ll buy all of you guys ten rounds of drinks!"

Bixlow laughed. "I`d be careful we`ll hold you to that!"

"Beer!" his dolls chirped.

Cana laughed. "I gotta head home now, I`ll talk to you later ok?" Cana ran off ahead. Bixlow grinned, happy that he was able to make Cana feel better. It was his job after all, as Laxus` bodyguard, to watch out for his girlfriend, eh hm, "friend," as Laxus called her. He sincerely hoped that she could come to fairy tail with them. She`d fit in perfectly.

**Mira Jane POV**

Mira hummed happily, as she listened to Lucy talk about her previous mission with Natsu. She was saying something about Natsu beating up this guy who had flirted with Lucy, and how she`d never get a boyfriend with Natsu around. Mira Jane was pretty sure Natsu`s actions were much more than an annoyed friend who just wanted to finish the mission. But before Mira Jane could say anything, Lucy turned beside her and said. "And I don`t want to hear anything from you!"

Mira Jane was silent for a moment; the seat next to Lucy was empty. "Lucy?" she asked. "Who are you talking to?"

Lucy blinked for a moment, puzzled. "I, I don`t know. It, it was almost like I was expecting someone to say something." Mira Jane was silent for a moment. "oh man, Natsu`s insanity is effecting me isn`t it?" Lucy moaned.

Mira Jane set down the glass she had been washing, and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the counter. "actually, you're not the only one who`s acting like this."

Lucy blinked. "What do you mean Mira?"

Mira explained. "For a few days now, I`ve been noticing it. It's really small, and hard to notice, but I can still see it. Macao, just yesterday, said something about a girl, who could out drink any of us. But right after he said it, he forgot he had mentioned it. Levy too, said something about asking a friend for a fortune reading, but had no idea what she had been talking about a moment after."

"that`s kind of weird." Lucy said frowning.

Mira nodded, picking up her glass again. "I`ve been seeing it all around. People talking about someone, or talking to someone who`s not even there. Also, everyone`s been having these dreams." Mira put down the cup, and picked up another one before continuing. "everyone`s been having these strange dreams, about this brunette girl. No one knows her name, but apparently in the dreams, she`s a part of the guild, and she drinks a lot. Makrov had a dream about teaching her how to play poker, and later, Levy had a dream about a brunette girl beating her at poker, even though no one has ever beaten Levy." Mira was silent for a moment, brooding over what she had said.

Lucy was silent. "And I thought it was just me and the gang who were going crazy."

Mira looked up surprised. "Excuse me?"

Lucy nodded, invigorated. "Yeah! On our mission, all of us, Gray, Erza, Natsu, and even Happy had weird dreams about a Brunette girl. Gray had a dream about a brunette girl scolding him for stripping; I had a dream about a brunette making fun of me for not having a boyfriend." Mira giggled at that. "I thought maybe it was just something we ate on the mission, but everyone in Fairy tail is experiencing it to?"

Mira nodded. "At least everyone I`ve talked to. Wow this is strange."

Lucy shrugged, "well it is Fairy tail, home of the weird and creepy for generations."

Mira laughed. "Maybe the guild is actually haunted." Mira suggested, showing her demonic face.

"EE! Don't say that Mira, you're creeping me out!" Lucy squealed. Mira laughed. In an attempt to change the subject, Lucy asked. "So I heard you were talking to Freed earlier."

Mira blushed, not missing Lucy`s smirk. "Yeah, he called me a little while ago."

"how`s the mission going?" Lucy asked.

"Pretty good. They`re just locking up some bandits in some small town. But Freed did say that the town`s folk are a bit strange?"

"Strange? What did he mean by strange?" Lucy asked.

Mira shrugged. "He didn`t explain, just a feeling he got. Oh, and apparently Laxus is interested in a girl."

Lucy almost fell out of her chair. "Excuse me?" she asked, sputtering.

Mira nodded, her match-making side starting to show. "He didn`t tell me her name, but apparently she`s a mage from the town, who offered to show them around. Laxus was out with her for lunch when Freed called."

Gray came over and sat next to Lucy. "Laxus finally met a girl? Took the guy long enough."

Mira smiled, clucking her tongue. "Unfortunately, our favourite lightening mage is having some trouble in cupid land, since apparently she already has a boyfriend."

Lucy winced. "Ouch, too bad."

Mira nodded. "Freed met her, and said she seems really sweet. Freed is convinced she`ll break up with him after a week of meeting Laxus. He says she and Laxus are practically a match made in heaven."

"Looks like your match-making side has infected your boyfriend, Mira." Lucy added with a smirk.

Gray turned to her, a shocked look on his face. "you mean it`s contagious?"

Mira laughed. "Oh, in other news, we got a letter from Gildarts."

"Are you serious Mira?" Natsu asked appearing behind Lucy. "Is he coming back to fight me?"

Lucy shrieked a bit. "How long have you been standing there?"

Mira ignored the comment, reaching under the counter. "Don`t know, haven`t read it yet. Here I`ll read it to you now." Mira grabbed the envelope, taking out the letter. She cleared her throat, before reading aloud.

Dear Fairy tail

Hey Everyone! How`s it going? Has Natsu burned down the guild hall yet? I heard about your victory at the Damien Ebu, Congratulations, I knew you could do it! I cut my travels short, so I could come back and visit you guy. I`ll be there in a few days, as long as I`m not held up by some mayor telling me I destroyed their town hall, and as long as I don`t run into any pretty girls. -Wink wink- don`t destroy anything before I get back. Oh, and message to Cana! Tell her I love her lots, and I`m bringing her back a souvenir. The two of us can go out for a drink when I get back, my treat!

See you all soon! Gildarts.

The group went silent for a moment, after reading the letter. Natsu was the first one to speak. "Who the heck is Cana?"

**Hi everyone! Again, I apologize for this being so late! Also, sorry about the Bixlow POV. I really wanted to get him in the story more, but I don`t think I portrayed his character very well. Please Review and I hope to update soon! (and yes, Freed`s girlfriend is Mira, sorry if anyone doesn`t like their couple.)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone! Ugh, I DID IT AGAIN! I MADE U AL WAIT 4 SO LONG! Well this time, I have a slightly better excuse, I had a big project due, (that still isn't finished.) ... actually that isn't a better excuse is it? Ok, please ignore that. Hope you enjoy the chapter! Don't own Fairy tail! **

**Laxus POV **

Laxus sighed in annoyance, picking up his shattered cloak. Some of the bandits they had fought had turned out to be mages, and had scorched his cape. He looked at it with distain and angry scowl on his face. "Man and that was my best one too!" he complained, to no one in particular.

His other comrades stood behind him, Ever sighed. "How long is this mission going to take anyway? Haven't we taken down most of the bandits anyway?"

"We've only taken down a few of the known locations. There are still a bunch we have to find." Freed answered patiently.

Ever moaned in annoyance. "Ugh! This is not fair. I'm heading back and taking a shower."

"No amount of showers will wash the ugly off of that face." Bixlow's doll chirped, then promptly fell to the ground, as a gray stone.

Bixlow jumped, then rushed over to the rock/ former doll. "No! My baby!" he picked it up, and started cradling it like a baby, cooing soft words to it about giving it a new form, the other dolls circling around him in a frenzy.

Laxus presently ignored the others, throwing his discarded cape to the side. He frowned, he was only wearing his muscle shirt now, but it was a bit dirty from his battle. He hoped it wouldn't be a bother. "So where are you off to Laxus?" Freed asked, snapping him out of his reverie.

Laxus didn't look back at him. "I made plans to meet Cana for lunch." Laxus didn't even have to look to know his friends were smirking knowingly at him. He turned, and glowered at him. "No, this is not a date."

"A date?" Evergreen questioned innocently. "We didn't say anything about a date, did we Freed?"

Freed gave a false gentlemanly smile. "No I don't believe we did Ever. Perhaps it was simply implied."

"Oh and why would that be? You don't mean to tell me that we knew all along about Laxus' love for out little card mage."

"Ok that's enough!" Laxus interrupted, glaring at the two of them. "I'm heading into town. I'll see you guys later tonight. AND DON'T FOLLOW ME!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Ever called teasingly.

Laxus hadn't even taken two steps when he heard Bixlow call him. "Hey, um, Laxus?" Laxus turned back to look at him. Bixlow's face was unusually serious, his mouth set in a grim line. He was still holding the stone doll, but the others were turned to face Laxus. Ever and Freed both looked surprised to see him so serious. "Um, be, careful, about that Cana girl." Bixlow bit his lip. "I mean her boyfriend. Be careful of him. Something about him just, creeps me out."

Laxus frowned in confusion. Bixlow had told him that he had met Cana's boyfriend the day before, but hadn't gone into details. Who the heck was this guy, to be able to scare Bixlow? "Sure..." Laxus said frowning. He walked on, leaving Freed and Ever to question Bixlow's odd behavior.

He walked around town, trying to find the place that Cana had asked to meet him. Finally he found the little bakery. He walked in, and sat down in a booth near the back. An older lady came and took his order, before returning back to her baking.

Laxus had just taken a sip of his drink, when he heard the front door slam open. He turned towards the sound, his hand immediately sparking. He saw Cana standing there, she had one hand on each sides of the door-frame, and she was breathing heavily. Even so the thing that caught Laxus' eye was the slightly messy hair that adorned her face, falling this way and that, as she bit her lip nervously. _"She looks kind of cute like that."_ Laxus thought, then quickly caught himself, and scolded himself for thinking such a thing.

Cana's eyes drifted around the room, before she met Laxus' eyes. She sighed, with annoyance, as she walked towards him. "Dang it, I was hoping I'd get here before you." She sat down across from him, propping her elbow on the table, leaning her head against it. "I only woke up almost half an hour ago, and ran all the way here."

Laxus raised an eyebrow at her. "It's almost 2 o'clock? You were still in bed?"

Cana gave him a scowl. "Don't question my actions!"

"Wouldn't dream of it. I'm afraid if I tried, I'd end up killing my brain cells."

Cana reached over, and hit him over the head. Laxus barely even flinched under the blow. "Jerk!" she huffed in annoyance. She turned and called. "Hey Mrs. Goodworth! Mind bringing me a beer?" The baker looked up, and nodded breathlessly. She hurried over, quickly placing the drink on the table, and rushing back behind the counter before Cana could even thank her. Cana frowned. "That's odd."

Laxus nodded in agreement. "Is she usually this busy?" he asked.

Cana shook her head. "No, usually Esther is here working with her. That's strange, I wonder where she is."

Laxus frowned, taking a drink from his bottle. "Hope it's nothing."

Cana frowned, but shrugged. "She's been acting strange lately; maybe she's just taking a break."

Laxus nodded in agreement, but he could tell Cana was still worried about her friend. For some reason, that sad look in her eyes made him feel...what was the word? Uncomfortable that was the word he was looking for. Desperate for a way to distract the girl, he glanced around the room swiftly, and his eye caught onto her purse, a few cards slipping through the entrance. "You said you were a card mage didn't you?" Luckily, Laxus' words had the intended reaction.

Cana's eyes snapped towards Laxus, her eyes sparkled. "Mhhm! I've been a card mage for years! I have almost 300 cards now."

Laxus, relieved, continued with the conversation. "Forgive me, but my knowledge on card magic is pretty limited. All I really know is that you do fortune telling?"

Cana nodded. "I can do a lot more than that, but fortune telling is the most common. Here want me to show you?"

"Eh?" Laxus didn't even have time to protest, Cana had already reached into her purse, and pulled out a stack of cards, and spread them out in front of him.

"Wave your hands over the cards." Cana said.

Laxus raised an eyebrow, but Cana just edged him to continue. Normally this wouldn't be something he was into, but Cana looked so happy right now, he was afraid to mess it up. (Not because her happiness sent his heart convulsing, only because he didn't want to see her upset! And his certainty didn't like the way she bit the inside of her lip expectantly, looking way to cute...) Laxus quickly shoved away his thoughts, fighting off the rapid blush he felt rising in his cheeks. So he quickly waved his hand over top of the cards. "There, now what?"

Cana closed her eyes, and reached her hand a few feet above the cards. Her hand shown a light purple colour, and immediately, three cards slowly floated up to her hand. She opened her eyes again, and quickly shoved the over cards into her purse, placing the three selected cards face up in front of her.

"Now we start to do a little digging." She pointed at the first card. It showed a large knight, strong and powerful, bigger then the other figures. He was defending a group of people, who were all rushing towards him, arms open for a hug, but he held his back to them, his eyes focused on the battle. "You see that knight guy? That's you."

Laxus frowned, studying him. "You serious? Man I thought I was better looking than that!" Cana laughed as his banter

"Oh trust me you are sweetie!"

"I'm glad you noticed, you're not to bad yourself doll." Laxus said on instinct. The two starred at each other for a moment, without an explanation for their strange comments. They both turned back to the cards, both of their faces slightly red. "I, err, anyway, the knight shows that you are loyal, and strong, and can beat pretty much any enemy. But you see how your back is turned to the people, who are trying to hug you? In your guild, at least I think it's in your guild; emotions are a very important factor to everyone. You also care a lot about those close to you, but you are so concentrated on protecting them and making them stronger, you sometimes forget the emotions you work so hard to hide during a battle. That sometimes causes you to hurt those close to you."

Laxus swallowed at the accuracy of her words, remembering the incident at the battle of Fairy tail. Giving him a quick glance, to see if it was ok to continue, she looked back at the cards. "This second one, is a little romance story I guess. Oh fun, I love a little romance in here." Laxus had to concentrate in order to keep his face from turning any darker than it was before. The card showed a little boy, sitting down in the grass, holding a small ball. But his mouth was set in a pout, his eyes confused. In front of him, there was a silhouette of a girl sitting in front of him, but it was a dark shade of black, a large question mark filling it in. Surrounding the two figures was a heart. Cana giggled slightly, noticing Laxus' obvious repulsion to the images, before explaining. "When you were younger, there was a girl you fell in love with. You've been in love with her since then, but you can't remember anything about her, maybe she moved away or something. You've been looking for her, but you consider it a hopeless case." She looked up at him, and winked. "If you find her, tell her she's a lucky girl."

Laxus tilted his head and winked at her. "Sure, but if she doesn't show herself soon, my eyes might drift away, a man's heart cants be contained for too long."

Cana had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing. "You gotta stop saying stuff like that, or else you're going to have two girls gunning for you, and that's never a good thing."

"By who's standards?" Cana laughed again, turning back to the cards.

Her eyebrows creased together, a concentrated expression coming over her face. "You're going to have to give me a sec; this one will take a while to decipher."

Laxus nodded, reaching for his drink, and bringing it to his lips, managing to look non-calm. When her eyes refocused on the card, Laxus' eyes turned to study her. He watched the light glint across her hair, the way her eyes seemed to swim in her concentration. He thought briefly about what she had said about a childhood romance. As far as he knew, there wasn't any childhood girl that he had ever fallen in love with, all the girls at the guild seemed slightly too crazy for his taste. But the dreams he'd been having...

Laxus slowly placed down his bottle, his brow moving to mirror Cana's concentration. If that girl was the one Cana's fortune told about, then that would mean she had to be real. Involuntarily, his eyes flittered up to Cana, but they immediately dropped back down to the table. There was no way that Cana was that girl, she had told him she had never been to Fairy tail, and what reason did she have to lie to him? But, at the same time, the similarities were too big to simply be ignored. It was weird though, he remembered that in one of his dreams the girl had given him a fortune, which was slightly similar to this, what was it she had said?

Cana snapped her fingers, drawing Laxus out of his reverie. "I got it!" she leaned into the table. "Sorry it took so long, there's some writing on this one, and I'm had some trouble deciphering." Laxus leaned in to take a look at the card. It showed a picture of a king standing in the middle of a road, but he was chained down, each of the chains leading to different pathways. At the end of each pathway where things that looked nice, swords, treasure, land, etc. There was another pile of chains beside the man that he had managed to escape. There was a symbol placed on each of the chains that Laxus didn't recognize. "That's you the king this time."

"A king? Aw yeah that's what I'm talking about!" Laxus said with a smirk.

Cana grinned. "The king shows that you are a natural born leader. You have the strength and wisdom for it, and you have the traits that make people want to trust you. But you focus too much on the wrong things of a leader. You focus on the strength, your pride, and your honour, over the people you govern." She pointed at the pile of discarded chains. "You know this yourself, and at time, you've managed to refocus yourself on what's important, but because of your nature you often have to watch yourself to make sure you don't slip up and make the same mistakes." Cana took a deep breath, having completed her fortune. "Well, you are a complicated man aren't you?"

Laxus raised an eyebrow. "I'm a man of many secrets. So how'd you do that? Was there some trick to it?"

Cana shook her head, grabbing the cards. "No trick. Magic." She turned them to face him again, and Laxus saw that they were all blank.

"What the..." he started

"The cards always start off blank. The images are different for everyone, which is why it's so difficult to find the meaning behind them. I've had years of practise, so I'm faster than most."

Laxus raised an eyebrow, slightly impressed. "I see, are all your cards like that?"

Cana shook her head. "No, just the three. These ones are technically the only ones I use for fortune telling."

Laxus frowned, confused. "But then what were the others for?"

"Just for show. It looks cooler when there are more than three cards. That was a bit of a deeper fortune, usually I just do general fortunes, that aren`t anything special, but when I use these cards I can get more information. The results can change from time to time, depending on what happened to the person between the times." Laxus raised an eyebrow, but decided not to question her words. but he did remember the dream girl had said something about a general fortune. Cana turned to place the cards in her bag. "I must say, I am slightly disappointed. I was hoping to learn a bit more about you."

Laxus raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Cana turned back to him, a mischievous smirk on her lips. "Well, honestly, other than the fun little fact about your romance life," she winked at him. "Didn't realize you were such a romantic by the way."

Laxus shrugged. "I try."

Cana continued. "I could have pretty much told you everything else without the aid of the cards. You're pretty much an open book to me."

Laxus raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Cana shrugged. "Well, yeah. As a card mage, reading different people has become a specialty of mine."

"I see." Laxus said. "Well, seeing as you gave me my fortune, why don't I give it a shot?"

Cana raised an eyebrow. "I can't show you how to use the cards, it'll take too long, and I don't think lightning mages have the right magic skill..."

"I'm not talking about the cards. I mean just from my own judgment. You can tell me if I'm right or not." Laxus smirked at her, his eyes challenging. "You're not the only one who's good at reading people."

Cana grinned, curious. "Alright. I'll play your little game. Shoot."

Laxus took a breath, before he started. "You like drinking."

"Anyone could tell you that." Cana said, rolling her eyes.

"Let me finish." Laxus frowned. "You like drinking, but not in the way most people do. Mostly people only use drinking as a way to block off some kind of pain, but though you do occasionally do this, you drink primarily just because you love the sensation of it."

Cana raised an eyebrow. "Good start."

"The people here." Laxus said, looking up to make sure no one was listening. "In this town. You're close to them, and you consider them almost family. But at the same time, you feel like their chaining you down. You want to make more friends, then just the people here in the town. You want to travel, to meet new people, but you're confided to this small town, because you can't bring yourself to leave the people here, and because of this you have started to feel distant from them."

Cana nodded, "ok I'm impressed. Anything else you got?"

Laxus frowned. "Your boyfriend." He noticed Cana visibly tense at this.

"What about him?" she questioned.

Laxus was silent for a moment, wondering if he was crossing a line. "You like him, but you don't love him. You care about him, but not in the way you should as his girlfriend. Your friend Esther obviously likes him, which is why she is so scarred that you're going to hurt him by hanging out with us, but even though you realize this it doesn't bother you. You're only with him because you know that if you break up it will hurt him, and being with him has become more of a chore for you than anything."

Cana was silent for a moment, Laxus fearing her reaction. "That's getting a little personal, isn't it?"

Laxus frowned, leaning forward. "You got pretty personal there yourself."

Cana leaned forward. "I was using the cards, I only said what I saw, don't hate the player, hate the game."

"And I was only saying what I saw. So we're even."

"What makes you so sure I don't love my boyfriend?"

"If you did, would you be here flirting with me?"

"Oh you say it like you don't enjoy it."

"I didn't say I don't."

"Then what do you think?" Cana said. Both of them immediately froze. Unconsciously, then had been leaning in closer to each other, and were now so close, their noses were almost touching. Cana gulped, a little nervous. "I, um, looks like we're a little close there." Laxus just nodded, his eyes drifting slightly to her lips. "Guess we should, um back away, I guess." Laxus just nodded, he couldn't bring himself to say anything, but at the same time couldn't bring himself to move. The two were silent for a moment, staring at each other, neither knowing what to do. Suddenly, Cana's eyes flashed, and Laxus felt his mind slip into a memory.

_The memory was different than his previous ones. This time, instead of being a child, he looked around the same age he was now, maybe a year or so younger, but not too long ago. Laxus himself was sitting at the guild bar counter. The place was half full, most of the members having left for home by now. He had a bottle of beer in his hand, and was just slightly over tipsy. _

_Feeling a presence over him, Laxus looked up to see Cana standing over him. She was dressed nicely, considering her usual attire. She wore a black leather jacket, unzipped a bit at the top, a black lacy skirt going down to her knees over top of blue leggings. Her hair was held back into a high ponytail, but a few stray hairs flouting around her face. She was obviously drunk, that much was clear, by her walk, and the goofy grin on her face. Laxus, impaired by the alcohol, couldn't help but smile at how beautiful she looked, despite the fact that she was drunk._

_"hhhhey Laxy boy!" _

_Laxus blinked. He was surprised that Cana was talking to him, considering the two of them weren't on good talking terms. "hey." he started. "Um, Cana how drunk are you exactly?"_

_"Pppreeetttty drunk!" Cana slurred. To Laxus' surprise Cana jumped up, and sat in his lap, resting her head on his shoulder. "I was out with Vincent."_

_Laxus increasing good mood plummeted. "Oh. That your current boyfriend I take it?"_

_Cana shook her head. "Nope, my ex. Just broke up with him."_

_Laxus raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Why's that?"_

_Cana waved her hand. "Wasn't feeling the relationship. He was boring, wouldn't stop going on about his stupid cat. Who the heck goes on a three hour rant about which cat food brand is best?"_

_"Laxus couldn't hide his chuckle. "Sounds like a great guy." _

_Cana sighed, snuggling into his shoulder. "I'm upset, though, he was SSSOOOO cute!" Cana moaned in annoyance. "Why is it that all good looking boys are either crazy or taken?"_

_"And which group do I go into?" Laxus asked, half jokingly, trying to relax his tense muscles._

_"Oh you're in a class of your own. Hot guys are a different story all together."_

_Laxus had to stop a moment, to make sure he had heard that correctly. He laughed tensely, hoping to change the conversation. "You might have a hard time saying that when I become guild master. I could suspend you for saying something like that."_

_"Oh you're not going to be guild master."_

_Laxus face hardened, anger stirring inside him. "Excuse me?"_

_Cana turned, and looked him in the eye, and Laxus was caught off guard by the seriousness in her eyes. "You're strong Laxus and you'd make a great guild master, one that anyone would follow into battle, but not yet. You still have something's to figure out. One day, you'll make a mistake, and it'll be a big one. I don't know what it'll be, but I'm certain of it. And then you'll realize what you've been doing wrong, only then will you be fit to be guild master." __Cana curled up closer to him, acting extremely calm. "Just do me a favour, and warn me before you do anything ok? I don't want to see it, cause I know it's going to hurt."_

_Laxus was silent for a moment, unsure of what response to give her. "You're a strange one, you know that?"_

_Laxus felt Cana grin into his chest. "Aww, so are you, but I still love you."_

_Laxus blinked. "Huh?"_

_Cana looked up at him, her cheeks flushed from the alcohol. "I suppose I should hate you. It's your fault none of my relationships work you."_

_"Why would that be my fault?"Laxus sputtered in defence. Before he could do anything, Cana grabbed his shirt, and pulled him against her, sealing his lips on hers. It was a rough kiss, and Laxus could taste the alcohol. Against his will, Laxus reached up, and pulled her harder against him, reluctant to let her go. But soon the need for air caused both of them to separate, breathing heavily. Cana leaned forward, noses touching, their lips to close for Laxus' comfort. _

_"Because no matter how angry I am at you, and no matter how much I know you're going to hurt me, I still can't get you out of my head."_

_Abruptly, Cana leapt from her seat, and started walking out the doors. "You might have to fill me in tomorrow on what happened, because I am WWWAYY too drunk to remember any of it tomorrow." Laxus watched her walk out, not taking his eyes off her for a second. _

Suddenly, the front door bell rang, shocking them both out of their trance. Cana immediately retreated back into her seat, her face blushing red. "I, um, what were we talking about?"

Laxus just shook his head. His head was filled with the memory of a drunken Cana at his guild. "I, um, probably something dumb."

Cana nodded in agreement. "Yeah, probably." Cana frowned, checking her watch. "Um, I think I should go check on Esther, see if everything is ok." Laxus nodded, dumbly. Cana turns to leave, before glancing back at him. "Umm, want to meet here again tomorrow?"

Laxus looks up surprised. "Err, yeah, sure sounds great." Cana smiled slightly, before walking out of the store. Laxus starred down at his bottle, trying to ignore the ghost feeling of Cana`s lips on his own.

**Mayor`s POV**

The mayor sat down in his chair, glancing nervously at the figure sitting across from him. He didn`t regret making Esther leave the house, even though he wished for the extra support, he knew his daughter`s safety came first. "You wanted to talk to me?"

Across from him, Damien sat on his couch, sprawled out on it as if he was at home. Damien smiled goofily at him. "What's with this cold attitude, Mr. Mayor? You used to welcome me with a smile whenever I came to your house!"

"Not anymore." He spoke quickly. "What is it you wanted?"

Damien sighed at his behaviour, as he straightened his posture. "Well, I was talking to Cana yesterday."

Aw, the fight. The Mayor had heard about that from some nervous townsfolk the day before. "You two fought."

Damien frowned. "Na, I wouldn`t call it a fight, just a, um, disagreement. No reason to worry." The mayor didn`t comment. Damien leaned forward a bit. "But you know, while we were talking, Cana said the funniest thing. She, ha you're not going to believe this. She actually said that it was you who requested for the mages to come to town!" Damien's entire demeanor changed, as he came to the end of his story. The mayor tensed, but didn`t take his eyes off him. "But then I thought, no, the Mayor? There's no way he'd do such a thing! I mean, surely after all these years, you of all people, know better than to go against me." He smiled innocently, but the aura surrounding him told a different story. "So I thought, hey, I'm in the neighbourhood, why don't I stop by, and ask, just too clear things up."

The mayor was silent for a moment. "I did call them Damien." Damien didn't reply, his silence scarring the Mayor more than his words. "Damien," he started, tactfully. "This, behaviour of yours has gone on for long enough. The bandits, perhaps they have done some things, but, they are people, you can't treat them..." the Mayor stopped himself, knowing that these words would have no impact. "You have to let Cana go."

Damien's figure tensed. "So you did know that they were from her guild."

The mayor nodded. "I thought that perhaps their presence here could revive her memories. She deserves to be free Damien. _At least someone from this town will be."_ The Mayor thought grimly.

Damien was silent, for a second too long. "You broke my rule." The Mayor went silent. "I said it before; no one meddles with my affairs. And do you know what happens to people who break my rules?" Damien stood up, and started walking towards him. The Mayor made no move to retreat, knowing it would be futile.

As Damien placed his hand on the older man's forehead, the mayor spoke. "You can't win." Damien hesitated for a moment. "You may be strong, but you're not strong enough. The people of this town will be free from you."

"Such hostile behaviour Mister mayor!" Damien said smiling.

Softness slipped into the Mayors eyes. "You used to be such a kind boy, you used to care about others."

"I still care about others." Damien said. "Which is why I won't let anyone destroy the peace I have made in this town." And at that, his hands glowed red, and the Mayors eyes rolled back in his head.

_The Mayor's head shot up at the sound of a door slamming. "Esther, are you home sweetie?" the mayor slowly stood up, and walked towards the front door. He found Esther standing there, leaning against the wall gasping for breath, her eyes wide and bloodshot. She was only about 12 years old at this time. "Darling, what happened?"_

_Her head snapped towards her father, tears falling out of her face. "Daddy, oh daddy it was horrible!" _

_Her father knelt down, and brought her into a hug, she started sobbing into his shoulder. "Shhh, shh its alright dear, tell me what happened."_

_She spoke through the sobs, err father had to struggle to understand her words. "I-I was following Damien, in the forest, I know it was wrong, but ever since he started going to that man." The young girl sniffled. "He-they were practicing some fire magic. The, Damien's teacher, said that he'd never be strong enough to use it on a person, and Damien...Damien." Esther was silent for a moment. "He, he went to another one of the bandits, and he burned him." Her uncontrollable sobs started again. "Oh daddy it was awful! He burned him from the inside out, the screams..." Esther balled into her father's shoulder, who simply stood there, to stunned to say any words of comfort._

**Hey everyone! Ya, I know that last scene was a bit, um... I can't think of the word to describe it. I'm sorry this chapter came so late, I hope you all enjoy it! Please Review! **


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